NBA Rumors: New York Knicks Preventing Phil Jackson, Los Angeles Lakers Reunion

NBA rumors are stating that New York Knicks owner James Dolan is very likely to prevent team president Phil Jackson from leaving for the Los Angeles Lakers, according to Hoops Rumors. The feeling around the National Basketball Association is that Jackson wants to be reunited with his girlfriend Jeannie Buss, who is one of the top executives for the Lakers organization.

When Phil Jackson first signed on to become the president of the New York Knicks, a lot of people were under the assumption that he would not make it until the end of his contract. It’s not so much that they were predicting that he would fail at the job. People just assumed that Jackson would lose interest and want to find something else to do or find another NBA team that he could take over.

Rejoining the Los Angeles Lakers would definitely enable Phil Jackson to spend more time with Jeannie Buss. Right now, the two of them are living on separate coasts. It’s not an easy commute to go from New York to California. For many, being in a long distance relationship like this would be impossible, especially since they have high-profile jobs that require a lot of their time, but the two of them are mature adults who are able to make it work out.

It is a bit unusual that Phil Jackson would want to rejoin the Los Angeles Lakers because his relationship with Jim Buss, the brother of his girlfriend and part owner of the team, has not always been smooth and steady. The two of them have not seen eye to eye on many issues. Jackson was pretty miffed when Buss decided to hire Mike D’Antoni instead of him when the position was opened.

It’s hard to envision Jim Buss giving up his job title willingly to Phil Jackson. It’s also hard to see Buss firing Mitch Kupchak and replacing him with Jackson as the new general manager of the Los Angeles Lakers. Kupchak has done a superb job, as the teams that he has constructed have been able to win an NBA Championship. Replacing him with Jackson is a risky move because Kupchak seems like the type of person that would stay with the Lakers for a very long time.

James Dolan might not need to block Phil Jackson from going to the Los Angeles Lakers because he seems to be enjoying himself as the president of the New York Knicks. Sure, he had to fire head coach Derek Fisher, but that simply means that he can now pursue some bigger names that are available. Jackson is said to be extremely enamored with Golden State Warriors assistant coach Luke Walton.

Phil Jackson has long been concerned about his legacy, as evident by the fact that he purposely chose to coach NBA teams that are filled with superstar players. He can add to that legacy by restoring the New York Knicks franchise back to greatness. To help further that goal, Jackson can show how good of an executive he is by locking down one of the top free agents, such as Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder, this upcoming summer.

There’s also a very good chance that Phil Jackson would want to stick around and watch New York Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis develop into an All-Star player. Jackson can take a lot of pride in that because he was the one that selected the Latvian forward, even though many assumed that he was going to be a bust.