Unwanted by the Bulls, but Needed by the Lakers

Considering that the Lakers have the NBA’s fifth-best record, rationalizing the firing of Del Harris would be difficult for Jerry Buss and Jerry West. The only thing more difficult would be finding another coach who is certain to be a better fit with the Lakers.

I can think of only one. Unfortunately for those like Buss and West who are impatient for a title this season, he’s not available. Yet.

His name is Phil Jackson.

I’m not saying he would be the greatest master of X’s and O’s to come our way since John Wooden, Pat Riley or even the StingRays’ Maura McHugh, but he is the most qualified to handle this underachieving, over-glorified cast of characters.

For one thing, he’s got enough championship rings for one hand and is starting on the other. Players respond to that.

So would Laker fans. I’ve got to believe they would like it better if the coach were almost as famous the other people who sit in the front row at the Great Western Forum.

But even though Jackson is a star in his own right, he doesn’t have to be the center of attention. On a Laker team with one current and one future superstar and a couple of wannabes, the Zen master would be perfectly content to let them have the floor. If he can coach Dennis Rodman, he can coach Nick Van Exel.

Likewise, if Jackson can coach Michael Jordan, he can coach Kobe Bryant.

I’m not going to say Bryant is the next Jordan because there may not ever be another one. But Bryant is a rare talent. With Jordan, Jackson has proved he knows how to let that develop. At the very least, he didn’t get in the way.

Buss and West would sleep better if they were certain that some day they could say the same thing about Bryant under Harris. But they’re not.

It’s that concern, more than a mini-slump after the All-Star break or a 3-3 trip, that is leading to questions about Harris’ future.

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After seeing a couple of Shaquille O’Neal’s movies, I’d guess it’s all but impossible to embarrass him. . . .

But, as the Laker captain, he should have been embarrassed when West felt compelled to write a letter reminding the players what it takes to win a championship. . . .

West didn’t have to write letters when Magic Johnson was playing. . . .

I felt a lot better about Latrell Sprewell when he said on “60 Minutes” that he hadn’t choked P.J. Carlesimo, that he’d just wrapped his hands around his coach’s neck and dug in his fingernails for 10 seconds. . . .

No wonder arbitrator John Feerick let Sprewell off so lightly, a 68-game suspension that cost him only $6.4 million. . . .

Despite his protestations over Feerick’s decision, David Stern won the daily double. . . .

And he knows it. . . .

Not only was a significant portion of the stiffest penalty in sports history upheld, the NBA commissioner was able to claim righteous indignation. . . .

Among undergraduate basketball players most coveted by agents is Tennessee junior Chamique Holdsclaw. . . .

She’s likely to be at the center of an intense bidding war between the WNBA and ABL. . . .

The Sporting News reports that Nike is trying to put a couple of its clients, John Thompson and Michigan, together if the Wolverines decide not to stick with interim coach Brian Ellerbe. . . .

Speculation is that Thompson could lure unsigned Nike camp grads, such as Schea Cotton, to Ann Arbor. . . .

Another player he might pursue is power forward Korleone Young, a former AAU teammate of Earl Watson and JaRon Rush in Kansas City. . . .

Young, however, probably will opt for the NBA draft. . . .

Rush, meantime, may be getting a bad rap. . . .

Reportedly, Kansas stopped recruiting Rush after the high school senior said he didn’t like “Roy’s substitution pattern.” . . .

He was referring, of course, to Roy Williams. . . .

But people close to Rush say he had already told Williams he wasn’t going to Kansas. . . .

They say Williams was trying to save face after losing the second area prep star in two years to UCLA. Watson was the first. . . .

One or two more will almost pay back the Jayhawks for signing Paul Pierce out of Inglewood. . . .

Having two Olympic goaltenders on the roster is a luxury for the Mighty Ducks. . . .

They should trade either Guy Hebert or Mikhail Shtalenkov for a scorer. . . .

Hint: Edmonton is dangling Doug Weight.

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While wondering if today’s NFL running backs realize how lucky they are that they didn’t have to face Ray Nitschke, I was thinking: The refs thought they were doing Shaq a favor by not sending him to the line every time he’s fouled, I’ll believe the USA Hockey investigation is serious when Ken Starr joins it, a tractor would have to gain weight to resemble Robert Traylor.