Phil Jackson made an appearance at a "Live Talks Los Angeles" event in Glendale earlier this week, and addressed a number of topics of interest, including whether he'd ever coach again, his thoughts on the Lakers, and the head coaching candidacy of his former protege, Brian Shaw. Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times rounded up a number of Jackson's quotes, so let's dive and check them out….
On whether he'd coach an NBA team again:
"Sometimes I feel I can still get out there and do it, but the reality is I'm kidding myself…. When I was done I knew I was done — physically it was over. Even though after I got a knee replacement and a prostatectomy in the last year and a half. It's those long flights and three o'clock nights — getting up after five hours of sleep and going back to work, those are the things that wear you out…. I have no intention of coaching."
On whether he'd be interested in rejoining the Lakers in some form:
"[The Lakers are] going through crisis and if they ask me to come and sit and just listen to what's going on, I'm willing to do that. As of right now there's not a position that's open there, in which to have an influence — so I understand that."
On the state of the Lakers:
"I'm trying to counsel [Jeanie Buss] on ways the team can improve. They're a mess, we know that because of their financial disorder right now, that's the thing they have to get straight right away…. For them to be able to move and to adjust to the process that goes on in the NBA, you have to have flexibility. The [way] the league is structured with its new CBA and how it penalizes teams, you can't make moves. [With] guys like Carmelo [Anthony] and LeBron [James] in a couple of years, you've got to be capable of making a challenge for those kinds of players."
On the possibility of Shaw landing a head coaching job this offseason:
"I think that Brian might have an opportunity but I just want it to be the right one for him. The last conversation I had, I told him to make sure he doesn't end up in a no-win situation like Charlotte. I say that with great respect for my former assistant Kurt Rambis, who ended up in Minnesota, didn't have a lot of success there and hasn't gotten mentioned in recent years since. I think Brian can do a really good job with [the Clippers]. However, I don't think [Donald] Sterling will hire him because he's always a guy who goes against the grain…. I wanted to see [Shaw] have the Nets job, I thought that would have been the perfect job for him."