Phil Jackson Could Make Return To Lakers As Soon As Next Season

As reported by both Yahoo! Sports and CBS Sports, a Phil Jackson return to Los Angeles could very well be in place.

Fueled by the recent decision to fire former player and hand-picked head coach Derek Fisher from his position with the New York Knicks, many in the media are calling out Phil Jackson’s apparent lack of commitment to New York.

Could that mean he’s desiring to come back to Los Angeles? Absolutely.

Also, considering the fact that Byron Scott‘s current tenure as the Lakers’ head coach isn’t going so well, with the team just barely escaping the worst losing streak in franchise history not long ago.

A rush to judgment does no good in this case, but no matter how you look at it, the firing of Derek Fisher has to say a lot about Jackson’s trust of one of two things — Fisher’s abilities to turn the program around or his belief in the organization as a whole.

Despite all of the negatives brewing in New York, rookie Kristaps Porzingis has blossomed well alongside veteran Carmelo Anthony.

Fisher’s issues were mainly related to the fact that he couldn’t differentiate being a player and a coach. Because of this lack of proper attitude, it wasn’t hard for him to lose the trust of the guys in the locker room.

Everything from making a reality TV show episode to not being on time for the start of a practice made it evident that either Fisher didn’t want the job in New York as much as he advertised, or Phil Jackson failed to make the right call in bringing him on board.

Whatever the case might be, possibly even an odd mix of both, it hasn’t been a good look or feel for New York.

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Jackson hasn’t been able to secure or offer the team a likable, respected, or proper long-term replacement for Fisher, either.

You can’t expect that to really go well with the organization, can you?

Phil Jackson returning to Los Angeles could make the Lakers more of an immediate threat than you might think.

By that time, there’s still a good chance that, on top of what the team has to offer on the roster right now minus Kobe Bryant, they’ll have a lottery pick to work with.

And that pick could easily be Ben Simmons of LSU or Brandon Ingram of Duke — Jackson would find excellent roles for them both.

Lastly, a return of Jackson to the head coaching position in Los Angeles would just feel right. He’s already been in that position before, and he’s one of the biggest factors into not just the growth and development of a fearless Kobe Bryant, but a revolutionary Michael Jordan during his time in Chicago.

It would speed up the development of D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle without question, while giving the chance for fine tuning and finishing touches to the game and playing style of guys like Lou Williams and Jordan Clarkson to take their place.

Should any of this become official, the Lakers need to welcome him back with nothing short of open arms.