Luke Walton, now head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, still views Phil Jackson, now president of the New York Knicks, as a valuable confidant.
From the New York Post‘s Marc Berman:
Lakers rookie head coach Luke Walton admits he’s been in contact with Jackson from time to time to get advice — including right after he got the job last spring and as recently as three weeks ago.
Walton is one of Jackson’s favorite Lakers players he ever coached and was his first choice to coach the Knicks.
“I’ve definitely reached out to him about different things,’’ Walton said at Staples Center before the Knicks beat the Lakers 117-112 on Sunday night.
On what topic?
“On how to coach,’’ Walton said, only half-facetiously. “When I call him now, instead of random check-ins, it’s about specific things. I try to get his opinion on how he thinks I should handle something, on getting better at certain things, just picking his brain. So far he’s batting 100 percent.”
Nothing about this is unusual. Nor is it adequate fodder to refuel the “Phil Jackson is totally abandoning the Knicks and re-joining the Lakers in some front-office capacity” hype train. And it’s definitely not a reason to harshly judge Walton.
Jackson may be, to put it kindly, an iffy team president. He acts too much like a coach and hasn’t learned when or how to shut his mouth.
Once upon a time, though, he was a successful coach. His on-court constructs and philosophies may not play in their entirety anymore, but he is an 11-time coaching champion and is nothing if not schooled in the art of juggling superstar egos. That experience alone is invaluable to someone, like Walton, who is just starting out.
Walton, of course, doesn’t have any superstars to manage just yet. But he has a few superstar prospects and is coaching Jackson’s old stomping grounds. Whatever dialogue that has taken place between them is to be expected.
