Jeanie Buss: Phil Jackson ‘is happy with what he is doing’ in New York
Could the NBA’s power couple eventually join forces professionally in Los Angeles again? Perhaps, but it probably won’t be happening any time soon.
In an interview with Sam Amick of USA TODAY Sports on Monday, Lakers president Jeanie Buss expressed the content of partner Phil Jackson with his current job as president of the Knicks.
“It really isn’t about trying to get him back here (to the Lakers),” said Buss. “He is happy with what he is doing, and he … is up for the (Knicks) challenge, and he’s seeing the results of the work he’s put in. But he has a ways to go.”
Jackson, 70, took over in The Big Apple in March 2014, signing a five-year, $60 million deal. Since then, the Zen Master has seen the inherent struggles of that job, with the Knicks going 41-98 in the last two seasons and Jackson having to fire his former protégé Derek Fisher as the team’s head coach. But Jackson has also landed Latvian sensation Kristaps Porzingis and other young assets to build around, so the Knicks’ future is looking bright nonetheless.
Rumors have sprung up recently that Jackson could eventually return to the Lakers, being in possession of an opt-out in 2017. But between recent moves he made that show his long-term commitment to the franchise and these latest comments by Buss, it looks safe to say that the 11-ringed maestro is happy to stay put at Madison Square Garden for the time being.
