If Jerry Buss really wants Phil Jackson back to coach the Los Angeles Lakers, now would be the time for the team owner to speak up.
Don’t hold your breath.
Although Buss could have lauded Jackson any time over the past two years as the Lakers won back-to-back NBA titles, the owner’s silence on the matter has been deafening.
I’ve been pointing this out for months, by the way. And Mark Heisler of the L.A. Times, who just this week has offered a ringing endorsement of Byron Scott as a Jackson replacement, has repeatedly taken me to task for it.
But the truth that insiders have been telling me for months is clear.
If Jackson’s going to return as coach, he’s going to have to do it to despite the stony silence of the owner. And he’ll likely have to take a pay cut despite his success.
If Buss doesn’t want to pay Jackson the unheard of price of $12 million per season to coach the team, then he should never have agreed to such a deal when he gave Jackson a pay raise two years ago. You wanted and needed a championship so badly back then that you agreed to boost his money, Dr. Buss?
And now you don’t need a title very badly? That’s what you’re saying with this silence.
To complain about money now that Jackson has delivered two championship teams is unheard of. Win titles and take a pay cut? That’s a low blow, Dr. Jerry. And it’s not just me saying that. It’s your remarkable team captain, Derek Fisher, who discussed the issue in an interview with Ramona Shelbourne.
“As much as it is about his quality of life and how he’s feeling, his energy levels,” Fisher said, “I think his decision could be easier if he wasn’t maybe feeling as though he’s not being fully appreciated, which is how it ultimately makes you feel.
“It’s sad to me,” Fisher told Shelbourne recently, “when you think about what he’s accomplished in his career, that he still always has to deal with these type of scenarios where there’s a question of whether or not he’s the best person for the job, or he’s not really coaching because of the players that he’s had. He’s just a remarkable human being in terms of his approach to managing and coaching the team.
“I think not even just the Lakers, but the NBA as a whole, would lose a big part of what this game has been about the last 20 years if he’s not back. If he’s not back, it changes the whole landscape.”
Fisher, of course, is a free agent guard and will turn 36 in August. Has there ever been a braver, more forthright NBA player? The guy not only laid his heart on the line for the franchise’s 17th title (yes, Lakers won one in 1948 in the old National League), but Fisher is speaking up right now, even though it could cost him dearly.
Teammates Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol have also spoken up, although their contracts are secure and in place. They’ve made it clear where they stand.
Some Lakers fans may let you off the hook for this one, Jerry. It’s obvious you’re gambling that your season ticket holders won’t protest if you let Jackson and Fisher slip away.
I’m not asking you to pay Jackson. I’m just calling for you to speak up and declare publicly how important he has been to the franchise.
I know that you don’t like that Phil’s an odd, distant kind of guy.
I know you don’t like the triangle offense he runs.
I know you don’t like paying him so much money.
I know you’re eager to prove that you can win one without Phil.
I know you’re not elated that he shacks up with your daughter and sometimes offers his disrespect in all those subtle little ways.
I know you like showing that it’s you, not Jackson, who is in control of the franchise.
I know you think your reputation and image are secure with all those championships you have in your pocket.
I know you’re a proud, stubborn man, but does this have to come down to ego and pride?
Yes, it’s a poker game. Lakers assistant Brian Shaw, one of two top candidates to replace Phil, is “close to accepting” the Cleveland Cavaliers job, according to his agent. What’s the last time an agent made such an announcement? And Byron Scott declared that he’s not waiting around on anyone, another obvious bluff. Are Phil, Scott and Shaw all trying to out-bluff Jerry Buss?
Does it all come down to yet more tiresome games?
Is that what you want as your legacy?
You have a chance to eclipse the Boston Celtics as the team with the most NBA titles, and you’re going to let ego and pride get in the way?
Say it ain’t so. Speak up and ask Phil to return. Show us you’re bigger than these silly games.
Roland Lazenby is the author of Jerry West, The Life And Legend Of A Basketball Icon, recently released by ESPN Books.
15 Comments
I realized fairly early on in reading this piece that its premise is faulty. I’ve heard Dr. Buss acknowledge the majesty that is PJ’s mastery of the coaching art and his value to the team. I heard him say that he’d welcome him back with open arms. He paid him $12 million, per year, to do what he apparently would do anywhere else for less. PJ has been paid $12 mil a year, has bopping the owners daughter for ten years and won’t marry her, (or did you think he forbade their marriage?) and insists that he will take his time deciding whether he wants to return each year, even when he was under contract.
Kupchak says that they have only to wait on his decision, whatever that will be. No animosity, just resignation. Resignation that Phil is in charge, Phil is the big cheese. And, you want him to fondle, in public, PJ’s family jewels? I get it now, you’re volunteering!
Edward,
You’re absolutely right. It is tough to stomach Phil. He has so many rings, you think he would give Jeanie one too.
So you provide interesting perspective.
But, hey, such crap goes with the NBA territory. Phil’s hardly the only cad in the league. He’s just one of the most talented.
My point is, you’ve paid this guy for a decade to get to this point. Why run out of steam now?
Yes, there is scant trust between these two men. You have to blame both of them for that.
But why not close out the era with another title? After that, they can spend the rest of their lives dissing one another.
Thanks for commenting.
RL
I think in this day and age that women and men can decide when and if they want to be married..or not. OK? Edward and Roland need to join the 21st century.Jeannie is a very accomplished woman who goes out with another very accomplished man. That is allowed.
I really think its not money but PJ’s health that is the issue this time around. He is not in great shape with the two artificial hips and the assorted other pains he carries around with him. The regular season is an endless marathon of meaningless games but every team guns for the champs and it will be no different next year. He’s won enough championships and he’s the greatest coach in history. What more does he need? He’s talked about the next phase of his life and I really think he means it. He was obviously moved/shaken by the Karl situation and I think he is afraid of not being able to get through another grind of a season with even more pressure to win. I think he’s done.
Rob,
Interesting points all.
I should point out that this view of the Phil and Jerry Buss relationship is that projected by Jeanie herself in her comments. This is her fear, articulated to her inner circle.
Thanks for commenting.
RL
Isn’t it possible that Dr Buss views the Lakers as having underperformed relative to their talent level?
Yes, they won the championship, but given (i) their talent advantage over every other team and (ii) their payroll premium over every other team, surely this was not unexpected.
But equally sure is the fact that for most of the season they underperformed relative to their talent level. Ie, except for about ten games, they basically played like crap every night.
And isn’t it perhaps right to hold the coach accountable for this? And to think that he’s not worth such a premium over every other coach in sports?
And can it be doubted that other coaches could win with this level of talent?
Sure, Derek Fisher shows his appreciation: What other coach would have played him so many mintues?
Sure, Kobe Bryant shows his appreciation: Phil basically lets him play any way he wants to, whenever he wants to.
As both Derek Fisher and Jerry West said earlier this season, the Lakers hardly ever play the triangle offense. It’s mostly give the ball to Kobe and let him decide what to do.
I, for one, would love to see what another coach could do with a team this talented. Too bad Mike D’Antoni is taken.
Jim Joyce,
I gotta tell you I love all people who post under their full names. But I gotta ask you, are you smokin’ soma that extra strong medical herb?
Cheers.
RL
RL
Thanks for the love.
But do you actually watch the games?
JJ
Jim,
Of course. Watch them closely. I’ve even used the triangle as a coach.
Granted, Jackson coaches differently, uses personnel differently, values personnel differently. The triangle changes the game in that regard, or at least parts of it, certain functions.
Seems to me that Tex Winter has taught Phil pretty well, and Phil has done his own innovation.
It can appear unorthodox, just as Jackson appears unorthodox.
It changes up the standard NBA game, and that, in part, is how he has won, that and the brilliance of his best players.
The triangle increases the value of the role players, defines their roles, clarifies where their shots will come.
That part of the game changes then.
Not so much for the Bryants and Jordans, although it does for them too.
And it changes for the posts. Fours work from the wing, and there are better angles to feed the post, plus the ball and player movement that usually produces good shots.
If it doesn’t produce good shots, then there’s always the Bryant/Jordan bail-out.
It’s not perfect, but damn it’s close.
Cheers,
RL
Roland, Point taken on the Jeannie situation. Hope you didn’t take offense.
Rob D,
Not at all. Glad for the company. It gets lonely here on lakernoise. All the groups copy my blog and post it for their own discussions, which is cool. Just not that many discussions here.
It’s the one good thing about journalism in the blogging age. Posters are quick with correction and add their take to the fray.
You’re welcome any time.
RL
But … but … if you actually watched the games, you’d know that virtually the only time the Lakers actually ran the triangle last season was when Kobe was out for that stretch of games.
I mean, both Derek Fisher and Jerry West (and I know you know who Jerry is) said the Lakers hardly run it at all.
I mean, they do know how to run it. They showed that in those few games last season. They run it pretty well (though not as well as Chicago did). But Kobe won’t stand for it.
For them actually to run the triangle, it means that he has to run it too, move the way players in the triangle are supposed to move, etc…
But that would mean he wouldn’t get to control the offense, take all the shots he wants, spend all the time dribbling and improving his brand that he wants to.
I mean, there was a reason why the other Lakers were grumbling about him last season?
It’s funny. Are you old enough to remember the Etch-A-Sketch toy? The one where you shook it, and the screen turned blank, no matter how godawful a mess you made with it?
Well, winning the championship seems to have the same effect on Lakers fans: They just can’t seem to remember how things actually WERE last season. I mean, how awful the games were to actually watch, because the Lakers played so poorly, selfishly, and without heart or interest so much of the time.
Is that what’s happened to you too?
They’ve been running increasing amounts of screen and roll since 2000. Everybody knows that.
Tex has always argued that just because they go to screen and roll doesn’t mean they’re not running the triangle. He calls the triangle their basic playing format, their philosophy, their system of play. He’s adamant about it. They still employ that basic two guard front.
Hey, I ran screen and roll out of the triangle when I ran it. It’s a simple system that provides floor balance and all those things.
Tex loved running screen and roll out of it. But don’t let your snobbish, snide-ass try to tell him it’s not his philosophy.
RL
A post like this puts it into perspective for this fan of 32 years. Dr. Buss is a businessman first which gives him the first tendency to look at things like costs vs wins. I think that he is a better owner than given credit for, because he has has won in different eras with great players that would break their arms and take less money to play for a winning organization. But it seems that he is too petty and vindicative to enjoy his success. It will be interesting to see what happens with Fisher. His character is needed by the organization now as well as in the future. I am afraid however that Dr. Buss will treat him poorly.
So, to take stock of things today, Phil took an extremely short time to decide to come back, and did so before even negotiating his salary. He also seems energized for a great season.
The original post seems like an attempt to generate big bunch of drama out of the situation that didn’t really have much drama.
Mike,
Jeanie Buss began early in the season with her intense fear that her father and brother were going to cut Phil loose. Sure, after everything out ok, it does all seem overly dramatic. But behind scenes Jeanie was insistent that they were going to fire him again.
The conflict there is real, although you have to give the family members credit for managing it extremely well.
Bottom line, Phil is back.
RL
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Roland Lazenby, Robert Baptista III. Robert Baptista III said: RT @lazenby: C’mon, Dr. Jerry, Your Silence Is Too Loud – Lakernoise: http://bit.ly/cleYjg via @addthis [...]
[...] –Laker Noise’s Roland Lazenby takes owner Jerry Buss to task for not offering Jackson more money. [...]