In March The Athletic reported that Phil Jackson was acting as an unofficial adviser to the Lakers, who is very close to Kurt Rambis, important member of the front office, but also of Jeanie Buss who is her ex. It was said that Jackson and Rambis would have played an important role in the appointment of Frank Vogel in 2019. And according to WojPhil Jackson would once more be involved in the current search for a new coach.
“They’re doing this as a committee in LA for this search for a coach,” Woj explained. “And there’s one person who’s certainly been heavily involved in that process, and that’s Phil Jackson. He gives his opinion, as he did last year when they hired Frank Vogel. He and Kurt Rambis are close, and he considered him to coach the Knicks before hiring Derek Fisher. I think his opinion matters. ยป
This may not please LeBron James. We remember that in 2016 Jackson had called LeBron’s entourage a “gang” in a pejorative way, which had pissed off his partner and friend Maverick Carter. Then LeBron had repeatedly criticized the former Bulls coach (especially for his handling of the Camerlo Anthony case), even confident that he was not a fan.