gunsnewing
Posts: 55076
Alba Posts: 5
Joined: 2/24/2002
Member: #215 USA
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I sure hope this is for real and not more media blabble! I really think Phil is considering the Knicks just as much as the Lakers and Cleveland because of his link to the Knicks and the repect he has for them. For guys like Red, Clyde etc
APPLE OF JAX' EYE?
By MARC BERMAN
March 30, 2005 -- LOS ANGELES — Jeanie Buss, Phil Jackson's girlfriend, Lakers VP and daughter of owner Jerry Buss, said last night she "absolutely, yes" sees the Zen Master landing with the Knicks next season.
In an interview by the Staples Center court before the Lakers hosted the Knicks, Buss spoke of the passion that Jackson — a member of the Knicks' two championship teams — still has for the Big Apple.
"It was such a great time of his life," Buss told The Post. "I totally see him back in New York. We were talking about Bill Bradley a couple of hours ago."
Buss joined Jackson on his book-signing tour through New York in the fall.
"When he was in New York in October, he wanted to take me places, wanted to show me everything," Buss said. "He's got a love of the city. A friend of a friend sent to me a New York Knicks team picture when he was on the team. It had all the signatures but they needed Phil's. We sat down. Told me all the stories."
Asked if Jackson and Jeanie could be a package deal for the Knicks, she giggled and said, "Well, maybe if he gave me a ring I'd think of something like that. But I don't think our relationship will be like that. I don't think I can leave my family business."
The Lakers executive admitted, though, that Jackson still could turn down all the jobs available because he seems unsure he wants to coach again.
"As close as I am to Phil, I still don't know if he wants to coach," she said, echoing the Tuesday comments of Jackson's friend and biographer, Charley Rosen.
"What's important to me is he's healthy and feels good. . . . I can't get a read one way or another [if he'll coach]. If he does, I want to make sure wherever he goes he has the support we gave him here."
Buss said she once feared him leaving for the Knicks next season, thinking it was the end of their relationship. Now she's fine with the idea, even if his returning to the Lakers would be her first choice.
She goes to New York twice a season for the NBA's Board of Governor's meetings.
"At the end of last season, when he wasn't coming back, I didn't know where our relationship would go," she said. "I felt a lot of panic keeping him here. Now that we've gone though this year, our relationship is as strong as ever. Do I worry about him going to New York? I don't have that concern anymore."
Jackson had lunch with Jeanie in her Staples Center office Tuesday.
"A bunch of the staff heard he was there, they came up and said hi," she said. "I could see Phil engage with them. I think he misses that interaction with the staff."
Jeanie still can see him back on the Laker bench next season, despite Kobe Bryant's presence.
"Kobe is not the reason Phil is not the Laker coach," she said. "The reason he's not the Laker coach is he had the opportunity to sign the extension and he waited. My father was coming to the conclusion he was going to trade Shaq. Kobe was a free agent and he had a coach who was noncommittal. He had to make a decision. Phil has always said Kobe is one of the best players, and any team with him can compete for a championship. I don't see it being a problem."
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