NEW YORK (Sporting Alert) Phil Jackson admitted that he would have come out of his retirement to coach Los Angeles earlier this season, but the former Chicago Bulls and Lakers coach has no plans to take the vacant slot at the Brooklyn Nets.
This was reported by NBA.com writer David Aldridge, who on Thursday said that Todd Musburger, the longtime agent for Jackson, revealed to him that the veteran coach is not interested in coaching the Nets.
Brooklyn is on the hunt for a coach at the moment after sacking Avery Johnson Thursday morning following a 14-14 start to the new season.
The Nets announced after that they are immediately searching for a coach to fill the role, but Musburger confirmed that Jackson, who has had a phenomenal coaching career, won’t be heading there.
“Phil has no interest in the Nets job at this time,” Musburger was quoted as saying on NBA.com via text message.
Jackson during his coaching career, worked with some of the greatest of players in the game, including NBA and Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan and Lakers star guard and icon Kobe Bryant.
Sources say the Nets want a high profile coach to run the club, as after spending a lot of money to bring in and keep several star players, the club owners want to see a quick return in the investment.
In the meantime, former Cleveland Cavaliers and Lakers coach Mike Brown has also been rumored to be on the Nets’ list, but nothing has been made public.
Meanwhile Johnson, who opened the season with an impressive 11-4 run before slumping to a 3-10 record after that, thank the Nets for giving him the opportunity to coach the team and said despite the circumstances, he did the best he could.
“For me, I’ve got to be able to look myself in the mirror,” Johnson said during his press conference Thursday.
“And even though I’m disappointed with how things ended, I think I did the best job I could under the circumstances. But obviously it wasn’t good enough, and now it’s time to move on.”
