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Phil Jackson said again that he will retire after the 2010-11 season, and added that he has no plans of getting back into the game as an announcer or commentator.
Actually, Silver Screen And Roll has 17 whole reasons why Phil Jackson will complete yet another threepeat in his final season with the Lakers. One of which is the simple fact that he might just be the only coach currently working who knows how to do it:
Phil Jackson is really the only coach in the modern era who really knows how to coach a team to three straight championships. Repeating is hard enough; it takes an entirely different mental approach to win the second than it does to win the first. So you can imagine that that is even more true of threepeating. A team looking to win it’s third straight needs to be coached to a different mentality than one looking to win its first, or even its second. And guess what? PJ knows precisely what those coaching needs are. He knows how to develop the necessary mentality. He’s done it three times — in fact, he’s never not done it!
Check out the rest of their reasons at Silver Screen & Roll.
In the end, the chance at a fourth three-peat was too much for Phil Jackson to turn down. After flirting with retirement (again), the Lakers coach announced that he will return in 2011 for what will be his final season -- or as Jackson put it, "the last stand for me, and I hope a grand one" -- on the sidelines, according to ESPN's Marc Stein.
Jackson had previously told reporters that he was "leaning towards" retirement, due to health concerns and questions about whether Lakers ownership would force him to take a pay cut in 2011. But the 65-year old Jackson received a clean bill of health recently, and after contemplating his future the past three weeks in his Montana home, has apparently decided to come back for his coaching finale next season, with the Lakers likely to be prohibitive favorites in the West, if not to three-peat.
Even with Jackson's return, he and the Lakers still have a few issues to sort out. As Matt Moore of CBS Sports points out, Jackson doesn't want to travel with the team next season (the grind of NBA travel was one reason Jackson considered retirement), and might prefer to delegate road coaching duties, likely to now-heir apparent Brian Shaw. As for Shaw, his decision to spurn the Cavs after seemingly having a deal in place to become their head coach makes more sense. Indeed, not only did the uncertainty of LeBron James' future with the Cavs make that job less appealing, but with Jackson stepping down in a year, Shaw figures to be the first in line to take over what should still be a loaded Lakers team in 2012 after having apprenticed under Jackson the past five years.
Jackson has already collected an absurd 11 titles as a coach, to go with his single championship with the Knicks during his playing days. He is the winningest coach in NBA history, at least measured by titles won, after surpassing Celtics great Red Auerbach's mark of nine championships two years ago.
According to a report from ESPN Los Angeles' Arash Markazi, the winningest coach in NBA History, Phil Jackson, is leaning toward retirement. It would come after another masterful performance from Jackson this year, ending with his NBA-record 11th championship.
But it's certainly not a surprise, either. The Lakers have maintained all year long that to remain head coach, Jackson would have to take a paycut from his lucrative contract. And perhaps in response to those demands, Jackson had remained largely ambiguous about any plans for the future. Until today, that is.
According to Markazi, "Phil said he usually follows his gut and his gut tells him to retire. He's not ruling out coaching elsewhere, but says its not likely." Jackson also said that he's likely to reach an official decision as early as next week.
It would be a huge loss for the Lakers, and a huge moment for the NBA. You could debate whether there's better tactical coaches throughout the league, but without a doubt, there's none more iconic than Phil, and should he choose to move on, it'd be the end of an era for not just the Lakers, but the entire league.
Phil Jackson Confirms This Is His Last Season Coaching The Lakers
Phil Jackson nearly ended his illustrious coaching career last summer, but decided to return for what he proclaimed would be his final season on the bench. Six months later, Jackson reiterated that this will be his final season, no ifs, ands or buts.
In an interview with ESPN's Hannah Storm, Jackson said that he means it when he says this is it.
He's said similar things before, and you have to wonder what happens if the Lakers do not win the title and cannot complete another three-peat. But given his advancing age and the status of many of his assistant coaches, it certainly feels like the time is right.
Jackson added that he doesn't want to remain in the game once he retires.
(via Pro Basketball Talk)
Jan 27 12:35p by Mike Prada - 0 comments