Recently Jeanie Buss had confided that Magic Johnson, who no longer has an official role at the Lakers since his resignation as president, remained an adviser whose voice is heard in the organization and that she does not hesitate to call on him. And according to The Athleticthere would be another Lakers legend who would serve as such an advisor for the owner.
It is Phil Jacksonjust present the day before yesterday for the meeting against the Warriors as announced by the Twitter account of the franchise:
The Zen Master is in the building ???? pic.twitter.com/my55FYCKms
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) March 6, 2022
Jackson is also Jeanie Buss’ ex, and he is said to be in very frequent contact with her to discuss the team’s difficult season. There would be one subject in particular that would be of particular interest to him, the situation of Russell Westbrook, who is struggling to fit in, is far from his best level, and is being heckled by Lakers fans. In ego management and star associations, the Zen Master is undoubtedly better placed than anyone else to distill advice.
Then we must also add that Phil Jackson is very close to Kurt Rambis, his former assistant, a voice that counts enormously in the front office and in the decisions made. The two would even have played an important role in the appointment of Frank Vogel in 2019, he who was a scout at the Lakers in 2005-2006 when Jackson was coach. He had also interviewed Jackson for the position of Knicks coach.
But if Jackson is so influential, which in the end is not a surprise, it is not certain that it will be well received by 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.
At a time when there is a lot of speculation about LeBron’s future at the Lakers, if Jackson were to have a more official and important role (we don’t know at this time), it could not be innocuous.
Via The Athletic