Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson (Photo : Twitter)
The LA Lakers will lose their superstar for 20 years and most of their critics believe the glory days of the Tinseltown team are over.
Kobe Bryant, who spent his entire career with the Lakers will finally hang up his sneakers at the end of the season, but some familiar names are being speculated to bring back the luster to Purple and Gold.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, the book is not yet closed on Phil Jackson and the Lakers.
"There's still a strong belief Jackson will eventually find his way to his fiancée Jeanie Buss and the Los Angeles Lakers," Wojnarowski stated. "Walton will be competing with Thibodeau for the Lakers job in the spring, and who knows: Jackson and Walton could be reunited there."
The Zen Master has strong personal ties with the Lakers, not to mention he also prefers to spend time in the West Coast. He may feel that he has done what he can for the New York Knicks, and the recent firing of Derek Fisher, one of his wards, may be seen as a step towards waving the white flag.
To his credit, Fisher was not his first choice as a coach. That distinction belongs to Steve Kerr, who won a title at his first shot of being the main man at the bench. However, Kerr is identified as a "West Coast guy" and wanted less of a daunting task so he went to Golden State.
There is another former Jackson ward who is a "West Coast Guy" and that is former Laker Luke Walton. Walton acted as the interim coach for the Golden State Warriors ended up with a 39-4 record, the second best start in NBA History. Jackson may recruit Walton for the Knicks head coaching job, but the question is, will Jackson stay?
According to Frank Isola of NY Daily News, "Jackson has an opt-out clause in his contract this summer that could make him a free agent and available to return to what he really loves; the Lakers, his beach house and Jeanie Buss. Not necessarily in that order, of course."
All of these are speculative at this point, but the opt-out clause makes it worth considering. Isola also pointed out that the Fisher firing was indeed an admission of defeat and if Jackson taps Tom Thibodeau as their coach-who is not his protégé nor someone who ascribes to his Triangle offense, it may be the confirmation that he is ready to leave the Knicks in good hands.
For the legions of Laker fans, this talk gives hope that Jackson can lure Walton, and Walton's winning ways will lure free agents back to Hollywood.
