JT the Brick

With all due respect to Phil Jackson and the Los Angeles Lakers organization, it is obvious that he was named head coach because he is dating the owner’s daughter. Nothing wrong with that. It happens every day in the real world. Phil is arguably the greatest coach in NBA history and deserves to land any job that he desires, but his girlfriend, Jeanie Buss, was able to convince her dad to give him one more chance at bringing the Lakers back to the Promised Land.

Why else would Phil want the job or Jerry Buss want to hire him? The Lakers are clearly a few years away from winning another title, let alone getting back to the NBA Finals. San Antonio has already built a team that has designs on becoming a dynasty over the next few seasons. The Lakers look like a team closer to rebuilding than competing for a championship. The Spurs have the best player in the world in Tim Duncan and he gets along with and respects his coach, Gregg Popovich. The Lakers have Kobe Bryant as their top talent, and he wanted nothing to do with his former/current head coach.

Phil mentioned at his news conference Tuesday that this job was about "redemption." He said he was still too young to retire and that sounds all well and good, but he must win a title in the next three seasons to break the all-time championship record for a head coach. The ultimate goal for Jackson is to surpass Red Auerbach and win 10 championships. That is why he is going back to work. It will be a comfortable environment for him because Jeanie Buss will be close by and Kobe will have to behave in front of the local and national media or he will be termed a “cancer.”

Re-Phil in L.A. Reunited! Lakers return Jackson as coach Celizic: Credit Phil for finally taking risk Ventre: Zen Master is nuts to return Wise: Return about yen, not Zen Vote: Why did he return to Lakers? Vote: Will coach lead Lakers to title?

Before you disagree, read Jackson's book. Then you will never believe anything that comes out of Bryant's mouth again after the events that happened a few years ago in Eagle, Colo. Kobe did not even have the guts to comment on the potential hiring of Jackson, because he knew that if Jackson turned down the job, he would have been blamed in the media for spoiling the water. Bryant once again works for Jackson when he steps on to the court and that is not what Kobe dreamed about when he ran Shaquille O’Neal and Jackson out of L.A. after the 2004 season.

Jackson's hiring should guarantee all Lakers fans that Bryant will be miserable until his coach wins his 10th championship or Jackson leaves for another opportunity. Kobe will give the triangle offense another try, but I expect him to still try to take over games going one-on-one because he will never have a teammate like Shaq again.

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This is a great moment in Los Angeles sports history because L.A. lives in the past. Los Angeles could care less that it is no longer considered a sports town with the muscle of Boston, New York, Detroit, Philadelphia or Chicago.  Jackson knows better than anyone that L.A. loves the Lakers more than all of the other sports franchises combined.

All knowledgeable sports fans in L.A. will remind you that the local entertainment reporters who cover the celebrities that go to Lakers games have more pull with fans than the green members of the sports media who trip over each other trying to break a story in their own backyard before it gets reported on national television.