Phil Jackson retired from the NBA after the Los Angeles Lakers were ousted out of the 2011 Playoffs by the Dallas Mavericks, and although he ended his career on a wrong note, Jackson is still considered the greatest coach of all-time. Jackson has racked up 11 NBA championships as a head coach, including five with the Lakers and six with the Chicago Bulls.
Now Jackson live peacefully in his homes in Los Angeles and Montana, and Sam Smith of Bulls.com had a chance to catch up with the Zen Master. There have been rumors that Jackson may explore the idea of returning to coaching, but at this point, he has replied back to every reporter with a ‘no thank you.’
“I don’t, [want to coach again]” said Jackson in an interview with Smith. “But that doesn’t mean I won’t. I don’t think I’ll coach again. I’d like to see if there’s another side of basketball, perhaps. If I’m back in full (health) activity at a level I want to be active at, I may not even want to go back to coaching.”
Some people believe Jackson will eventually find his way back to the NBA, but not with Kobe Bryant and the Lakers or even Derrick Rose and the Bulls; instead to New York City. The Knicks are in desperate need for a new coach and Jackson would surely like to go to the team that he won two championships with as a player.
Jackson has not stayed true to his word before, and he may end up becoming a coach again. Jackson thought he would never coach again after leaving the Bulls, but he came back and won five titles.
“I thought I was only going to coach three years,” Jackson said. “The Busses asked me to come back and hopefully get us in the playoffs and get going again. One thing led to another and I ended up coaching longer my second stint than the first with the Bulls.”
Only time will tell if Phil Jackson will make his way back to the sidelines, but wherever he ends up coaching is still up in the air.
