Phil Jackson on Kobe: 'Might be his last year as a Laker'

Phil Jackson has a long history of basically saying whatever he wants. Whether opining on Isiah Thomas or Urban Dictionary, praising prospects, or violating NBA anti-tampering rules, all is fair game for the Zen Master.

On Friday, the New York Knicks president gave reporters at the team's media day his thoughts on Kobe Bryant's future with the Los Angeles Lakers.

"I don’t think it’s his last year," Phil said, as relayed by Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. "Sounds like maybe his last year as a Laker, but I think that’s kind of what came out of there."

Jackson firmly believes that his longtime pupil will be able to sustain his production well beyond next season.

"Kobe, he’s had what, two seasons that have been aborted because of injuries," Jackson said. "I think he’s going to be really better than people think, and I think there will still be a future for him as he goes through this season into next year, where people are going to ask, 'Do you still want to play basketball?' So we’ll see how it goes. It’s a long season."

Bryant, 37, is entering the final year of his contract on a sub-par team, while coming off three straight seasons that ended prematurely due to injury. While he's been non-committal about his future, his own speculation has ranged from retirement to coming back, to possibly even playing overseas. Jackson's remarks are likely nothing other than an opinion, but one that will assuredly begin tongue-wagging among Knicks fans.

"I just want him to be healthy," Knicks coach and former Lakers teammate Derek Fisher said of Bryant.