The Los Angeles Lakers will bring the worst regular season in franchise history to an end Wednesday night, but it will still be a celebration. Kobe Bryant is set to play in his final game in the NBA, so of course Lakers fans, and basketball fans in general, will be tuning in to see the legend on the floor for one last hoorah.
Kobe will finish his career with five NBA titles under his belt, and all five of those were won with Phil Jackson as his head coach. Jackson is now the president of the New York Knicks, and although he is a legend as a coach, he has been much maligned for his work as an executive.
Jackson was hired by the Knicks back in 2014, and many fans were excited at the time and felt assured that he would turn the team around. That thought process was very flawed considering Jackson had no previous experience as an executive, and it has showed through his two years running the show for New York.
The Knicks have not shown much improvement and don't seem like they have all that bright of a future, and Jackson may realize that he is in over his head. It is being reported that Jackson is looking for an escape plan out of New York so he can go back to Los Angeles and rejoin the Lakers. Jackson's fiancé is Jeanie Buss, who is the Lakers' president and part owner, so he obviously wants to be closer to her, but he may also realize that he has dug himself too deep of a hole in New York.
While it has not been confirmed by anyone at this point, it is believed that Jackson has an out in his contract either this year or next year, at which point many think that he will most certainly be gone. If Jackson does already have one foot out the door, that leaves the Knicks in a really rough spot. This offseason is a big one for the Knicks, as they will have to look for ways to improve the roster, figure out Carmelo Anthony's future and conduct a coaching search.
Jackson seems dead set on hiring Kurt Rambis, the current interim coach, full-time to run the triangle, but if he is on his way out, he should strongly consider other options to at least not leave the Knicks in shambles. The reports of Jackson trying to get back to L.A. have been around for a while, but they have only gotten louder as things have gotten worse in New York. Jackson has plenty of reasons to want to go back to Los Angeles that have nothing to do with running away, but you have to think that if he was having more success with the Knicks, he wouldn't be willing to call it quits so soon in New York.
