“You’re telling me that’s not a crazy person show?” - Jay Williams bewildered by former COTY winner consulting the LA Lakers on their head coach search, says LeBron James is not being consulted
Former NBA player Jay Williams spoke about how the LA Lakers are a colossal mess despite having arguably the league's best player in LeBron James. Appearing on ESPN's "Keyshawn, JWill and Max," Williams said:
"I have heard word from people around the organization that his camp (LeBron James) has no idea what is going on. Zero clue what is going on. So you're telling me a guy in the conversation for being the best player in the world, his camp has no idea what's going on.
"Phil Jackson, a guy who was once the coach of the New York Knicks, that was once in a relationship with Jeanie Buss, called LeBron James and his crew — the posse, is now consulting with the Lakers organization to choose who the next coach is going to be? You’re telling me that’s not a crazy person show?"
The LA Lakers have a huge summer ahead of them. They will have to rope in a new head coach while configuring this roster into a championship caliber team.
The latest news to come out about the LA Lakers is that former head coach Phil Jackson is acting as a consultant. He's reportedly advising owner Jeanie Buss in hiring the next head coach for the franchise.
Will Phil Jackson come back as the LA Lakers head coach?
Phil Jackson is a 13-time champion. He won two as a player with the New York Knicks and 11 as the coach of the Chicago Bulls and the LA Lakers.
Jackson returning to coach the Lakers would be an incredible story, but one that seems farfetched at the moment. Jackson retired from coaching in 2011 after being swept by the Dallas Mavericks in the postseason.
.@RealSkipBayless proposes that Phil Jackson could take over as the next head coach for the Lakers: https://t.co/RAZtCNxGBk
The notion of Phil Jackson returning to the fold isn't completely unfounded. He has very close ties to Jeanie Buss, as well as Kurt and Linda Rambis. Kurt Rambis, alongside his wife, has been working as a close advisor to Buss.
Linda Rambis is a close friend of the LA Lakers' owner. However, Jackson retired in 2011, mainly due to the frantic travel involved with being a coach.
With that said, Jackson does have a history with two players on the roster — LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony.
James has admitted in the past that he isn't a fan of Phil Jackson as the legendary coach called James' entourage a "posse" in 2016. Carmelo is another player that he had problems with during their time together with the Knicks.
If LeBron does wield the power that the media reports he does, then it is hard to see Phil Jackson replacing Frank Vogel.
If he doesn't, this decision is very much down to Jeanie Buss. Given Kurt and Linda Rambis' influence over her decision-making, we could very well see Jackson return.