Phil Jackson: Seattle Plans, Kobe Versus Jordan, And Twitter Debate With Girlfriend

Phil Jackson’s Seattle revelations are just a part of what he has to say on his book tour for his memoir, Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success, which is coming out on Tuesday, May 21. The former head coach of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers has an opinion on pretty much every topic you could mention, including a bold comparison between Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan.

For the time being, even Macklemore himself will have to wait to find out if Phil Jackson will head a new NBA team to Seattle.

We all know that rumors have been flying that Jackson will be brought in as team president of the new Seattle Sonics if a Seattle consortium can win its bid to purchase the Sacramento Kings.

But the Toronto Raptors are also chasing basketball’s most winning coach, who managed Michael Jordan, acknowledged by Jackson and many others as “the greatest player in the world.”

But we seem to be in a waiting game. Phil Jackson can’t make a decision until he knows whether or not the Seattle deal will go through.

Meanwhile, he’s pitching his new book, including a sneak preview which he released to The Los Angeles Times, which in turn revealed that he’d made a blistering comparison between Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan.

According to the LAT, Jackson revealed a deep-seated personality clash between the coach and Bryant, who was accused of assaulting a young woman in a Colorado hotel room in 2003. The charges were dropped in 2004.

Revealing that his own daughter had been assaulted by an athlete but ultimately chose not to press charges, Jackson wrote:

“The Kobe incident triggered all my unprocessed anger and tainted my perception of him…. It distorted my view of Kobe throughout the 2003-04 season. No matter what I did to extinguish it, the anger kept smoldering in the background.”

By contrast, Phil Jackson’s obvious warmth for Michael Jordan shines through:

“One of the biggest differences between [Bryant and Jordan] from my perspective was Michael’s superior skills as a leader. Though at times he could be hard on his teammates, Michael was masterful at controlling the emotional climate of the team with the power of his presence.”

The book goes on to detail the seven-year process of Kobe coming to maturity and a better appreciation of true teamwork.

To add fuel to the fire, Phil Jackson is currently engaged to Los Angeles Lakers managing governor Jeanie Buss. She expressed her opinion about the Bryant/Jordan comparison on Twitter:

@philjackson11 Phil, in regards to Kobe vs. MJ – KOBE IS THE BEST. My humble opinion. @kobebryant #Lakers

— Jeanie Buss (@JeanieBuss) May 17, 2013

Uh oh.

Jeanie Buss just came out and said Phil was wrong and Kobe is better. Which is why women shouldn’t be allowed to talk sports

— Khadeem (@_Khatastrophe) May 18, 2013

Uh oh again.

How did we get on the topic of girlfriends spouting off on sports? Didn’t this conversation start out by talking about Phil Jackson in Seattle?

[Phil Jackson honors Jerry Buss photo by s_bukley / Shutterstock.com]