So will Hamblen, who seems ready to handle whatever comes his way. His only other experience as a head coach came in 1991-92 when he went 23-42 with Milwaukee when Del Harris was sidelined by stomach problems.

“Apparently, Mitch said it could be a day, a month, a year,” Hamblen said. “There’s nothing like the security of the NBA.

“Phil has his lot in life, I have mine. Sure, you’d always like to be an NBA head coach. If I owned a team or was in charge, I’d want Phil Jackson also. He’s got nine rings. My ego’s not that big. If it ended tomorrow, I’d say these 36 years have been a great ride. It really hasn’t sunk in yet about me being the coach of the Lakers.”

His first game in that capacity came Thursday night.

The Lakers now begin a five-game road trip Sunday at Houston. Bryant said he hopes to play sometime during the trip.

Bryant sprained his right ankle Jan. 13 and hasn’t played since. The Lakers were 4-4 without Bryant entering Tuesday night’s game and 23-19 overall.

After cutting ties with Jackson and trading Shaquille O’Neal during the offseason, the Lakers haven’t been close to the elite team they were the previous eight years, when O’Neal and Bryant led the way.

Jackson became head coach in 2000 and led the Lakres to three consecutive NBA championships as well as a berth in the finals last June, when they were upset by the Detroit Pistons.

The Lakers didn’t renew Jackson’s contract, and Tomjanovich was chosen as his successor after Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, Williams and Riley were contacted about the job.

The Lakers traded O’Neal to Miami and kept Bryant, re-signing the star guard to a 7-year, $136.4 million contract.

Tomjanovich guided Houston to NBA titles in 1994 and 1995. He spent his entire playing career in the Rockets’ organization.

Speaking before the Heat played at Dallas on Tuesday night, O’Neal wished Tomjanovich well.

“Me and Rudy have a great relationship,” O’Neal said. “He should take care of himself. I hope it’s not health-related because he’s a great guy.”

When asked what a possible coaching change would mean for the Lakers, O’Neal replied: “I don’t know. I’m not concerned with the organization.”

O’Neal was traded less than a week after Tomjanovich was hired. Because of their friendship, O’Neal called Tomjanovich before he got the Lakers’ job and told him he wasn’t coming back, no matter what.

“You respect a coach that’s done well with other big men, one of the greatest big men in my eyes, so I always had a lot of respect for him,” O’Neal said. “I know he’s a big man’s type of coach.”

O’Neal referred to former Rockets star Hakeem Olajuwon, who led the Rockets to a four-game sweep over O’Neal and the Orlando Magic in the 1995 NBA Finals.

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