Phil Jackson has more NBA Championship rings than he has fingers. He probably has enough money to buy an island in the tropics and swing in a hammock sipping Margaritas for the rest of his days. He surely doesn’t need the stress and strife at his age. So why does he do it?
It’s the game itself that draws him back to courtside. The center of attention. Everyone listening to him. Everyone depending on him. And then there is winning, there ain’t nothing like it, anywhere, at any price. That’s what is pulling the Zen Master back into the game.
When the Lakers were making their move with Mike Brown last season Phil Jackson was naturally talked about to come back and lead the Lakers to the winners circle once again. Jackson seemed to think that it was a foregone conclusion before the Lakers front office brought in D”Antoni as the new head coach. That was probably pretty hard for Jackson to swallow at the time.
Now he is back on the market and looking for a suitable city in which to work his hoops magic once again. It should not be too hard for Phil Jackson to find work. There is no better basketball coach living today and that’s a fact. Look at the numbers watch him on the sidelines. On top of that Phil is cool. He even looks like a Zen Master a little bit.
Perhaps “looking for work” is a little misleading. It is more like Jackson is interviewing perspective teams to see which one might suit him best. It is he who will make the choice where he will be coaching next season. General Managers and Owners of NBA teams in need of a new coach are all wooing Jackson like a spring bride. Coach Phil will write the terms and set the standards and both will be high.
One of the teams pursuing Jackson is the Toronto Raptors who could defiantly use his help. Jackson is already familiar with one of the principals in the Raptor organization, Tim Leiweke, former CEO of the company called AEG the owners of the Los Angeles Kings and Staples Center.
Leiweke was around the whole time that Jackson was coaching in Los Angeles so, they already know each other. Leiweke is now the CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment which owns the Raptors. So, maybe something will come out of that relationship. Toronto is a cool city.
