Lakers could start by Phil-ling void, Re-hiring Jackson one of several possible moves, By Ross Siler, Staff Writer
Friday, April 22, 2005 - EL SEGUNDO -- It wasn't the players who filed through the Lakers practice facility Thursday for their season-ending exit interviews that made the biggest news but the man who happened to stop by general manager Mitch Kupchak's desk last week.
One day after the Lakers completed their first playoff-less season in 11 years, Kupchak revealed that he chatted with former coach Phil Jackson for 45 minutes in his office and called him a "viable candidate" to return to his old job.
Although he hadn't ranked potential candidates, Kupchak said of Jackson, "certainly, he's at the top of the list." Kupchak added that he would like to have a coach in place when the Lakers take part in the June 28 draft.
"The job has not been offered to anybody," Kupchak said, "and at this point in time, I would characterize our relationship with Phil as casual. The interest or the possibility remains that he would be a coach for this team."
The pursuit of Jackson apparently has begun in earnest, with New York Knicks president of basketball operations Isiah Thomas telling reporters Thursday: "He is someone that we will definitely reach out and talk to."
With girlfriend Jeanie Buss a Lakers executive vice president, Jackson has been a regular visitor at the team's facility since returning from his six-week vacation to Australia and New Zealand. He also watched a game from owner Jerry Buss' luxury suite earlier this month.
"The fact that he's in the building, attending games with our owner in his box, he stopped by to say hello to me, I think that indicates there's some interest there," Kupchak said. "What level interest, I really don't know."
While the bidding for the 59-year-old Jackson could approach $10 million per season, Kupchak said such a price tag would not be a deterrent. The Lakers, Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Portland Trail Blazers are all jobs said to interest Jackson.
"We've never lost a coach because of dollars, so I don't think that would be an issue," Kupchak said. "Dr. Buss recognizes what it costs to bring great players and great coaches to Los Angeles."
The Lakers ended negotiations for a contract extension with Jackson in February 2004, then parted ways with him after losing in the NBA Finals. Kupchak added that Kobe Bryant would have input no greater than Magic Johnson or Shaquille O'Neal before him in the hiring of a new coach.
The scene Thursday was 180 degrees different from the one that took place last year, when Kupchak's failure to rule out trading Shaquille O'Neal touched off the events leading to O'Neal's franchise-changing move to Miami.
Now Kupchak's task is to pick up the pieces from the Lakers' 34-48 season. The Lakers likely will select either No. 9 or No. 10 in the upcoming draft -- only the second lottery pick in franchise history -- and Kupchak said he would consider a high school player.
"I don't think we're going to pass on a high school player," Kupchak said, "if we think that player can be a star."
The player with the most to say Thursday was point guard Chucky Atkins, who "poured his heart out" to Kupchak regarding what went wrong with this team. He said the Lakers never established trust in each other from the very beginning of training camp.
"We should have been a playoff team this year," Atkins said, "but the reality of the situation is we're sitting here right now, no more practices and no more games."
Before leaving for San Diego and dinner with his Hall of Fame father Bill, Luke Walton said Kupchak and interim coach Frank Hamblen told him he was wanted back.
Walton will be a restricted free agent and would like to return to the Lakers. The problem is the team already has four other small forwards under contract for next season.
Two days removed from shoulder surgery, Lamar Odom arrived at the Lakers facility with his left arm in a sling. He will need four months to recover but said everything he does this summer will center on becoming "one of the top 10 players in
the league."
Odom also made his strongest statement to date about playing alongside Bryant.
"I love being on the court with Kobe," Odom said. "To me, he's the best at what he does. You've seen him shoot the ball 40 times but I've seen him lead the league in triple-doubles.
"He does so many things well. I learned a lot from playing with him. He has an incredible will. He wants to win every game, and that's the type of person that I want on my team."
Kupchak said he had a long conversation Wednesday with center Vlade Divac. The Lakers could bring back Divac, who played in only 15 games and needed back surgery to repair a herniated disc, for $5.4 million or buy him out for $2 million.
"It's something that we're going to have to think through," said Kupchak, who has until July 1 to make a decision.
Forward Brian Grant, meanwhile, said that some of his injury problems, ranging from knee tendinitis to a sore neck, might have been related to his workout regimen after he was acquired from Miami -- and left behind the days of Pat Riley's brutal training camps.
"My thing was after the trade went down, I kind of relaxed because I knew I didn't have to go to a hard, hard training camp," Grant said. "Or at least there was not going to be one harder than Miami's. So I figured I'd be all right. But I ended up having a couple of injuries because of it."
Grant will spend four weeks this summer working with athletic performance coordinator Alex McKechnie. He played in 69 games but averaged only 16.5 minutes and is due $29.7 million in the final two years of his contract.
Also, the Lakers fired assistant coaches Mike Wells, Chris Bodaken, Larry Smith and Melvin Hunt on Thursday. The four all were part of former coach Rudy Tomjanovich's staff and stayed on after Tomjanovich resigned at midseason.