Hard being a Laker fan these days.....

[Kool 2k6]

Can it be that it was all so simple? I LONG for the good ole days. Pat Riley, Magic, Kareem, Cooper.....then the other great years with Phil, Kobe, and Shaq. Damn man. See, the I knew we'd go down the drain when Jerry West left the family. This Jerry Buss dude has GOTTA go. Maybe Magic or Kareem (or somebody else who would be a caretaker for the team) should take over. Read this bullshit below

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EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Phil Jackson is a leading candidate -- but not a lock -- to coach the Los Angeles Lakers, Jerry Buss said Wednesday.

The Lakers' owner said the formal search for a new coach is about to begin.

"We have a short list of names, which I won't reveal," Buss told reporters at the Lakers' practice facility. "Phil is on the short list. I think he wants to return to coaching, but maybe not next season."


Jackson's agent, Todd Musburger, said last week he thought his client was leaning slightly toward returning to coaching next season.

The 59-year-old Jackson guided the Lakers to three championships in five years before he and the team went their separate ways last June -- three days after the Lakers lost to the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Finals.

Buss and Jackson have gotten together recently, but not to discuss the job vacated when Rudy Tomjanovich stepped down Feb. 2, citing health concerns.

Buss' daughter, Jeanie, a Lakers executive, is Jackson's longtime girlfriend.

Jackson has already inquired about the coaching vacancies with the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks.

Tomjanovich signed a five-year contract to succeed Jackson. Assistant Frank Hamblen filled in as coach after Tomjanovich left.

Asked if the job is Jackson's to lose, Buss replied: "I haven't said that I do want him back. My reaction to the situation is you choose a coach who has the best chance of leading you back to the glory days.

"I feel we would like a name coach. I don't know if I want to take a gamble on someone who hasn't had past success."

Jackson has nine championship rings as a head coach, tying him with former Boston coach Red Auerbach for the NBA record.

"I will sit down with Phil and Mitch and Jimmy. We certainly will talk," Buss said, referring to Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak and his son, Jim, an assistant GM. "I think that's going to get pretty close now -- a few days. The decision, I don't think will be for a few weeks."

Buss said others will be interviewed as well.

"Certainly three, maybe four or five," he said. "We want to be very careful because we want to do it right."

Buss, who plans to leave for Europe on May 15 for a six-week vacation, said giving a coach part ownership of the Lakers definitely won't be part of any contract, but expects to pay in the vicinity of $10 million per year.

Speaking for nearly an hour, Buss also praised Kupchak; said nobody on the team, including Kobe Bryant, is untouchable; that he has no regrets about trading Shaquille O'Neal; and will be disappointed if the Lakers don't reach the second or third round of the playoffs next year.

The Lakers went 34-48 this season, missing the playoffs for the first time in 11 years and only the second time since 1976.

"Everything that could have gone wrong did," Buss said. "We had a lot of great plans. None of them materialized. I thought we would be very good."

Buss said this wasn't the most difficult season for him.

"The hardest season was the last time we didn't make the playoffs because I didn't see any way out," he said. "I don't feel that way now. I think we have better material."

Bryant signed a seven-year, $136.4 million contract to return to the Lakers last summer -- right after O'Neal was traded to Miami.

"I don't want to trade Kobe," Buss said. "I really think someone would have to give me their franchise, their arena, their city. (But) there's nothing untouchable. If we have the opportunity to improve our position, we're going to do it."

Regarding O'Neal, Buss said: "He's 60 pounds lighter in Miami than he was in Los Angeles. It seems that the motivation for him to lose weight was to trade him. I suspect if I knew he was going to lose 60 pounds, I might have made a different decision.

"Actually, I cheer for Shaq. I really like Shaq. I suspect he doesn't like me that much. I did what I thought was best for the franchise."

Buss paused when asked if he believed Bryant would have left via free agency had the Lakers not traded O'Neal.

"I've pondered that," Buss said. "I really don't know. They did have some differences. I could only speculate."

Buss said he believes Jackson and Bryant could coexist.

"Oh, definitely. No question," Buss said. "These people want to win."

The two had a difficult time in the past, which Jackson made clear in a book he wrote that was published last fall.
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WHAT THE F--K IS JERRY BUSS WAITING ON? RE-SIGN PHIL DAMMIT!