Jeanie Buss says Jackson isn't coming back to Lakers
According to Los Angeles Lakers president Jeanie Buss, any involvement of Phil Jackson with the Forum blue and gold will be limited to his singing cameo in Kobe Bryant's farewell Nike commercial.
Buss again tried to quell rumors this week that her fiance would return to the organization before his current contract with the New York Knicks runs out. She added that full control of the Lakers' personnel decisions rest with her brother and team vice-president Jim, as well as general manager Mitch Kupchak.
"When Phil was available, I would have liked to have seen (him return to the Lakers)," Buss told FOX Sports' Jay Mohr. "Before he took (the Knicks job), I asked my siblings if it would be possible for Phil to play a role with the Lakers because it would make me better at my job. It would be somebody that I would enjoy having an opportunity to work with, the man I'm engaged to. That wasn't in the cards.
"My brother made it clear that he and Mitch didn't need another voice in the front office."
Buss said the recent decision to part ways with coach Byron Scott belonged to her brother and Kupchak, who has served as Lakers GM since 2000.
"I didn't have anything to do with the hiring of Byron or the firing," she said. "They just didn't want to move forward with him. I'm not the type of person to meddle in their decision process."
The elephant in the room that remains, however, is Jim Buss' promise two years ago to step aside and hand the reins of the team back to his sister if the Lakers aren't a contender by 2017-18. Unless they can land top-tier free agents such as Kevin Durant this summer or L.A. native Russell Westbrook next, that appears quite likely.
Buss has had to fight off reports of her longtime partner returning to the Lakers in the past, and the 70-year-old Jackson has three years left on his contract with the Knicks.
"He's in New York, he's not coming back here," she told FOX. "I've empowered Jimmy and Mitch everything they need to be successful to create their version, their vision of Lakers basketball, and we have to allow them that time to show us what that vision is."