After a miserable season for the Los Angeles Lakers following a huge offseason, many fans are left wondering what could have come of Phil Jackson coaching the team. Well, at the very least he's finally telling us all why he didn't end up back in LA.
On a tour to promote his new book Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success, Jackson showed up on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno to talk about the Michael Jordan versus Kobe Bryant debate, and give his side of the story on why he didn't end up coaching the Lakers.
Much as the story was told when it happened, Jackson recalls talking to Jim Buss for an extended period of time and telling Buss that he was positive that he could coach the roster that they had put together.
Jackson requested the weekend to think about it, but late on that Sunday night, Jackson got a call from Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak telling him that the team had decided to hire Mike D'Antonio.
The decision caused a rift between Jim and his sister (and now Jackson's fiancé) Jeanie, the two not speaking to each other for an extended period of time.
You know the story from there. Los Angeles was barely able to squeak into the playoffs with a 45-37 record, they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the first round, and the words "fire" "Mike" and "D'Antoni" were used in some combination of at least 482,102 sentences over the course of the next two days.
He's currently advising the Detroit Pistons with their search for a new head coach, but his role in the NBA beyond that point is still up in the air.
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