Former coach and 13-time NBA champion Phil Jackson is in frequent contact with Lakers president Jeanie Buss regarding team matters, according to The Athletic’s Sam Amick and Bill Oram. Jackson and Buss previously dated and were engaged before the wedding was called off in 2016.
Jackson, who has no title or position with the Lakers organization, has had Buss’s ear when it comes to important team matters all season, per Amick and Oram. He is especially interested in the situation surrounding point guard Russell Westbrook. Westbrook was acquired in a trade last offseason but has struggled since joining Los Angeles. Despite he and the team’s struggles, the Lakers did not move him by the trade deadline.
Jackson has won five championships as a coach for the Lakers and given his extensive experience, he’s more than qualified to give advice on the matter. However, it’s unclear if LeBron James is a fan of Jackson’s involvement given some brief history between the two.
Jackson referred to James’s associates as his “posse” in a 2016 interview with ESPN, and James later slammed Jackson for his comments. And in ’17, James criticized Jackson for his handling of Carmelo Anthony during his time with the Knicks. Anthony, James’s close friend and now teammate, was playing for New York when Jackson was serving as team president and traded him to the Thunder.
“I’m not a fan of Phil Jackson,” James said in 2017.
The Lakers (28–35) are currently fighting for a play-in spot and are at the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference.
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