Jeanie Buss doesn’t think Phil Jackson is done coaching
Lakers co-owner and executive Jeanie Buss doesn’t think Phil Jackson is done coaching.
“It has to be the right situation,” Buss said Thursday during a live radio segment on ESPN Los Angeles (710 AM).
Buss, who is engaged to Jackson, said the former Lakers coach still has “that need where he’s got to coach something.”
Early last season, the Lakers fired Mike Brown but hired Coach Mike D’Antoni after interviewing Jackson for the position.
According to Buss, Jackson believes the current roster is well-suited for D’Antoni.
“Phil has said the team now is really going to do well under D’Antoni’s system,” said Buss. “Phil felt he was better for Dwight Howard.”
Howard left for the Houston Rockets as a free agent this summer.
“I don’t know how things are going to turn out,” Buss said of Jackson. “I just don’t think he’s done contributing yet. I think he’s got a lot to give.”
Buss also said there’s no date set for her marriage to Jackson, who has recovered well from a bout with prostate cancer in 2011.
“He’s cancer-free. He’s doing great,” Buss said. “That was hanging over his head” his last season with the Lakers.
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Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.
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