[url="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8233954/"]http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8233954/[/url]

[quote]Jackson reportedly
wants Pippen ... as a coach


The Associated Press
Updated: 3:08 a.m. ET June 17, 2005LOS ANGELES, Cal. - Phil Jackson might be bringing back Scottie Pippen to help him rebuild the Lakers — as an assistant coach.

Jackson has already contacted his former player to see if he would be interested in joining the Lakers staff, according to a report in The Orange County Register.

Pippen was unavailable for comment, but said last season he had no interest in being an assistant coach, according to The Chicago Sun-Times.

Pippen, 39, ended up being a mentor to the young Bulls players after his deteriorating physical condition kept him from playing last season.

Bulls operations chief John Paxson has said he thinks Pippen would make a terrific coach, according to The Sun-Times.

Pippen played 11 seasons for Jackson with the Bulls and teamed with Michael Jordan to win six championships.

Jackson is also expected to offer Tex Winter, the brains behind the triangle-offense, a consulting job with the Lakers. Frank Hamblen, who was interim coach for the Lakers last season after Rudy Tomjanovic quit, is also expected to join Jackson's staff.

One of Jackson’s first observations upon returning to the Los Angeles Lakers was he’d be “most amazed” if they were in position to contend for a championship during the life of his three-year contract.

“He said the same thing when we hired him the first time,” general manager Mitch Kupchak recalled. “I hope the same thing unfolds.”

Jackson has been known to sandbag, but that assessment makes sense considering the roster he has to work with and the Lakers’ salary cap situation for the next two years.

When Jackson was hired the first time in 1999, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant were young superstars on the rise, and they were complemented by several established role players.

The result was three straight championships and four NBA Finals appearances in five years before Jackson was dismissed last June.

Now, there’s Bryant and a mostly mediocre supporting cast.

Lamar Odom and Caron Butler, obtained from Miami in the O’Neal trade last summer, certainly have talent.

Otherwise, it’s not a pretty picture.

Even with all the injuries the Lakers experienced last season, 34-48 was no accident.

Jackson said last month while considering a return that the Lakers’ roster was “unappealing, underachieving and salary-cap strapped.”

On Tuesday, Jackson offered a slightly different spin, saying: “I meant that from the standpoint that it’s a glutted roster, not the people per se.”

There are too many small forwards, all right, and the Lakers would love to move several players who are under contract for next season.

Again, good luck, although the likes of Devean George, Jumaine Jones, Slava Medvedenko, Brian Cook and Chucky Atkins might be attractive trade bait for teams trying to rebuild under the cap. Their contracts all expire after next season.

Kupchak said he didn’t anticipate a high turnover.

“The salary cap is a challenge for everybody,” he said. “But even if you’re over the salary cap, there are ways to improve your team.”

One player who the Lakers would love to move but almost surely won’t be able to is Brian Grant, also acquired in the O’Neal deal. Grant is owed $14.3 million for next season and $15.4 million for the 2006-2007 campaign, and that best explains the Lakers’ salary cap problems.

The 33-year-old Grant, an undersized power forward/center at 6-foot-9 and 254 pounds, averaged 3.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 16.5 minutes in 69 games last season.

Jackson, arguably the most successful coach in NBA history with nine championships in 14 years and a career regular-season record of 832-316, has never been involved in a rebuilding circumstance.

He was a closer, not a fixer-upper with the Chicago Bulls, where he won six titles as head coach, and in his first tenure with the Lakers.

Now, it’s a whole different ballgame. And he knows it.

“It’s not about a 10th championship,” Jackson said. “I would be most amazed if at the end of the third year we had an opportunity to do that.

“It’s about coming back here and re-establishing a team that’s competitive. We don’t think things happen overnight. We expect some patience.”

Jackson said the Lakers “should certainly be a team that makes the playoffs,” but that won’t be easy in the difficult Western Conference. Seven teams in the West won 50 or more games last season, and non-playoff teams like Minnesota, Golden State and the Clippers all figure to be better.

With O’Neal gone, Jackson’s triangle offense will certainly have a different look than before. Bryant will be the focal point, and Odom figures to handle the ball more — perhaps playing point forward much as Scottie Pippen did for Jackson in Chicago.

“As an outsider watching, he looked like the best player on the floor in delivering the ball and running plays,” Jackson said of Odom’s performance last season. “I think there’s definitely a role there for him.”

Jackson mentioned defense as a priority, and specifically singled out Grant as a player who will need to contribute more in that area.  Jackson said he will take a different approach on defense than he did in the past.

“Without that big center to block shots and clog the middle, this team didn’t have a defensive image of how to protect the basket,” he said. “And as a result, they gave up too many easy scores, and you just can’t do that.”[/quote]

I don't know how well Pimp'an will work out as a head coach. Looks like Jackson is just trying to get an in for an old player. Hopefully the Lakers suck forever.