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General manager Mitch Kupchak said Hamblen would stay on indefinitely as coach of the Lakers, but didn’t rule out the return of Jackson.
“He’s going to be our coach going forward,” Kupchak said of the 57-year-old Hamblen, a career assistant. “Whether that changes in the next month, three months, a year, remains to be seen.
“Phil Jackson’s name will come up. If there was a business contact (with Jackson), I would know about it. I’m not aware of any business contact with Phil Jackson.”
Buss, Kobe and Kupchak met privately during the first quarter of Tuesday's game against Portland, the Times reported. Kupchack said the trio was "just chatting," but the Times reported that, according to Lakers sources, Bryant was asked in the meeting what he would think if Jackson were approached about returning. According to the Times, Bryant said he would agree to it.
On Wednesday, Bryant denied being asked about Jackson, and on Thursday, he vehemently denied it.
Other Lakers are behind Jackson's return.
"I'm excited to be playing for Frank, but if they're going to get someone else, I would love it to be Coach Jackson," forward Luke Walton told the Times. "I just like his ideas on how the game's supposed to be played, the flow of it. I was only with him for one year and I learned so much about the game. I would love to have learned more from him."
"He's a great coach," Lamar Odom told the Times. "I would like to have him here. Why not?"
Jackson, who left the team at the end of last season when his contract was not renewed, was quite unhappy coaching Bryant, he revealed in a book published in the offseason. But the long-time coach, who is on vacation in Australia, didn't rule out returning, the Times reported. When asked in an e-mail about any possible scenario in which he would return to the Lakers, Jackson said: “(I am) mulling that over in my mind.”
Buss told Bryant that bringing back Jackson would ease pressure on the young star, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing unnamed team sources.
Buss also considered telling Bryant that rehiring Jackson would irk Shaquille O'Neal the most, the newspaper reported, citing the unnamed sources.
"It's unfinished business," Lakers executive VP Jeanie Buss told ESPN.com. "Kobe has a throne to take. Phil has something to prove. There's more to their story.
"I know how Phil feels about Kobe. He still thinks any team that has him has a chance to win a championship."
The Lakers also probably will contact Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun to gauge his interest of jumping to the NBA, ESPN reported. Calhoun, 62, recently signed a six-year contract extension at UConn.
The Lakers would also consider contacting former Lakers coach Miami Heat president Pat Riley and North Carolina coach Roy Williams, ESPN reported. Both talked to the Lakers before the team hired Tomjanovich.
Riley, however, said he's not interested.
"I don't want to coach anymore," Riley told the Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Sun-Sentinel. "I don't need to belabor it. I love where I'm at. I love what I'm doing. I've got a contending team."
The Times reported that Detroit Pistons coach Larry Brown could be in the running.
Knicks president Isiah Thomas denied a New York Daily News report that he might be a candidate.
Kupchak also said he didn’t believe there was an urgency to hiring another coach.
Tomjanovich signed a $30 million, five-year contract last summer to replace Jackson, who left after guiding the Lakers to three NBA championships and a berth in the finals in his five years on the job.
Jackson and Buss said at the time that the separation was mutual.
Tomjanovich addressed the team in an emotional meeting shortly before speaking to the media, and said the get-together with his players got quite emotional.
“I don’t cry a lot. I did in that situation,” he said.
“He just basically came in and poured his heart out to us,” Bryant said. “We just wish him the best. He’s extremely passionate, emotional. But he’s a fighter. To see him down like that, it really hurt and shocked us all.”
Naturally, Bryant was asked about Jackson, who wrote a tell-all book released before the season that portrayed Bryant as aloof and difficult to coach.
“Rudy’s situation is a very serious situation. I can’t go from that to talk about successors,” Bryant said. “It really doesn’t matter to me. I’m just the guy in the middle. ... I’ve said that time and time again, I love Phil as a coach. If that’s the decision, I’ll roll with it.”
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