Best Potential Landing Spots for Phil Jackson's Next NBA Job

Phil Jackson isn't done.

The Zen Master hasn't coached since 2011 and is without an official job. But still, he isn't done.

Basketball minds like Jackson are never completely out of the game. Time can be taken off and roles can change, but they'll never really leave. In Jackson's case, he has already tried to come back.

Long after being passed over by the Los Angeles Lakers in favor of Mike D'Antoni, Jackson entertained his fair share of offers. Known to be enamored by a potential front-office role, Jackson has yet to find that one spot where he can further his legacy.

In the process, he's turned down various head coaching opportunities, like that with the Brooklyn Nets. He's also stated that he is done coaching.

Despite Jackson's insistence that his sideline-haunting days are over, his fiance, Jeanie Buss, thinks otherwise. When asked if Jackson had coached his last game in the NBA, Buss said "no," according to Lakers Nation. 

Certainly Buss is closer to Jackson than most, but it's tough to imagine him returning as coach after he has declared numerous times that he's finished in that capacity.

Her latest revelations, however, open up a world possibilities. If Jackson is willing to coach again, then he hasn't permanently removed himself from the NBA.

He's really not done.

Washington Wizards

Proposed Role: General Manager

Almost, but not quite needless to say, I'm not a fan of the work Ernie Grunfeld has done with the Washington Wizards.

Washington hasn't made the playoffs since 2008 and even now, with postseason hopes on the horizon, it is in no position to count on a bright future. And with no guarantee the Wizards are about to climb out of the hole they've inhabited for the last five years, it might be time to go in a different direction.

Like Jackson's direction.

I say "general manager" because the Wizards wouldn't have to make Jackson the president of basketball operations right away. Given his lack of experience, handling the GM duties would be enough for now.

Because the Wizards need help. They're not as well off as some observers believe.

John Wall's contract can be spun as a success, but where are they to go from here? Not only do they have almost $70 million committed in payroll leading into next season, they stand to have as much as $54 million on the books in each of the next two seasons thereafter.

That doesn't leave a whole lot of room to improve, especially when Washington has three more years devoted to Nene and four to Martell Webster.

Bradley Beal, Otto Porter and Wall are a start, but the Wizards are far from a finished product. And Grunfeld has done nothing to prove he's the man to manage them toward contention.

Should the 2013-14 campaign not go as planned, or the Wizards ever grow wary of not being good enough, Jackson is only a phone call away. 

Sacramento Kings

Proposed Role: Consultant

When the Sacramento Kings named Pete D'Alessandro their general manager and Chris Granger their president, I was totally cool with the hires.

Then the Kings went and overpaid Carl Landry, and I began to doubt again.

Finally free of the Maloofs, the Kings still don't have a discernible direction. They have almost $59 million devoted to a team that won't come close to making the playoffs. And in DeMarcus Cousins, they have a budding superstar with the potential to become the best center in the NBA, but a player who still lacks the internal guidance he needs to realize that promise.

Jackson had a standing offer from one-time prospective owner Chris Hansen to take any position he wanted within the franchise's front office. But that was before Hansen's bid to relocate the Kings to Seattle came up short.

Though the Kings remain in Sacramento, new owner Vivek Ranadive could certainly use Jackson's input.

Let the championships speak for themselves here. Jackson has plenty of them: 11 as a coach. He knows a thing or two about winning.

Which isn't to say the Kings should allow him to rule with an iron fist this early in the game. Simply building a business relationship would be a good place to start. He wants to build up his executive resume, and the potential to advance toward greater things in Sacramento (should the coaching staff or the front office fail to do their jobs) would be there.

Joining the Kings as a consultant is admittedly a long shot. It seems to me that both parties would be hesitant to get into bed with the other. Jackson also told Jay Leno back in May that he wouldn't be taking the position D'Alessandro eventually accepted.

Still, Jackson may want to get back in the game somehow, and Sacramento is in no position to pass on the opportunity to forge a bond with the man who has almost as many championships as Granger and D'Alessandro have days on the job (kidding).

New York Knicks

Proposed Role: Executive Vice President and General Manager

Before you laugh, understand that the New York Knicks are in a place where they aren't sure whether Carmelo Anthony, the superstar who forced his way to the Big Apple, will remain with the team beyond next season.

That's a problem.

Some are pleased with the job Glen Grunwald has done; I'm not one of them. I'll admit that he did a great job making the most out of nothing this offseason, but that doesn't erase his decision to sign numerous dinosaurs to multiyear deals last summer.

New York had its knight in shining armor when Donnie Walsh was around. Like he does to everyone who makes too much sense, owner James Dolan spit in the face of Walsh.

It's because of Dolan that this suggestion could seem ridiculous. Not unlike Robert Sarver of the Phoenix Suns, Dolan appears opposed to winning championships.

Were he to have a much-needed change of heart, realize that micromanaging a billion-dollar organization is as productive as Andris Biedrins and give someone the free rein needed to finish what Walsh started, Jackson's name should be in the conversation.

Impulsive decisions have ruled the day in New York for far too long. The Knicks could use someone more methodical (like Walsh) who isn't Dolan's errand boy (like Grunwald). They could use someone who was on the team when they last won a title. Someone who can tell 'Melo that he can build his own team in 2015 and that word would actually mean something. 

That's the thing here—the Knicks are all talk. They were supposed to land LeBron James and didn't. They did acquire 'Melo but at a far steeper price than he should've commanded.

And they were supposed to go after Chris Paul; they got Tyson Chandler instead.

There's a pattern of failure here. And the Knicks wouldn't need Jackson to coach them out of it should they fall short again this season. Having him in the front office, as a figure whom outside free agents respect would fill a greater need.

All he would have to do is rescind his past comments about 'Melo, not be opposed to operating without any first-round draft picks for the next decade and hope Dolan gives him the respect that Walsh never got.

Charlotte Bobcats

Proposed Role: President of Basketball Operations

Reuniting with Michael Jordan would feel so good, a sensation the Charlotte Bobcats (soon to be Hornets) organization hasn't experienced in quite some time.

Appointing Jackson team president would dictate the departure of Rod Higgins, but I'm fine with that. Said move is actually encouraged.

MJ could go for broke, show Rich Cho the door and furnish Jackson with general manager responsibilities as well. We know the king of zen wants to have Pat Riley-esque control after all. 

I'm kind of intrigued by a Cho-Jackson pairing, though. Hiring Steve Clifford and (I'm going to say it) signing Al Jefferson were solid basketball decisions. I'm also inclined to believe that Higgins and Jordan had more to do with the Mike Dunlap catastrophe than Cho.

In truth, the Bobcats just need someone with a direct line to Jordan's ear, someone to save him from himself. If Jackson could do that from an advisory role, then hell, go for it.

The title of team president, however, seems prominent enough to peak his interest, to where he wouldn't balk at associating himself with such a disaster. Having no front-office experience, Jackson isn't likely to turn the 'Cats into anything special until after they've been the Hornets for awhile.

There's also no guarantee this ends well at all.

But the Bobcats really can't get any worse. That's something.

Denver Nuggets

Proposed Role: Consultant

Pairing Jackson with Brian Shaw is always a good idea.

Masai Ujiri was swept off his feet by the Toronto Raptors, creating a void that Tim Connelly, Arturas Karnisovas and Josh Kroenke won't be able to fill.

Bringing on Jackson as a consultant gives the Denver Nuggets yet another mind off which to bounce ideas, making the job of a first-time GM like Connelly a bit easier.

Jackson's advancement within the organization obviously depends on how much the team values Connelly, but this is more about the former bolstering his reputation as someone who can aid the process upstairs. He doesn't have to have a long-term future in Denver; it can be a stepping stone for his next gig.

Denver's infrastructure was shaken this summer, losing Ujiri, firing George Karl and facilitating Andre Iguodala's relocation. The additions of J.J. Hickson, Randy Foye and Nate Robinson help some, but the Nuggets are basically at odds with themselves right now.

For a team that had so much success last season, their future is hazy. They could come close to duplicating last year's performance or struggle to snag a playoff berth. Or worse, they could miss the playoffs entirely.

At this juncture, the more eyes on this product the better. Stepping in as a consultant now and helping the Nuggets sort through the mess they've put themselves in would lead to greater things in Jackson's future, be it in Denver or elsewhere.

Detroit Pistons

Proposed Role: General Manager/President of Basketball Operations

Joe Dumars is currently the acting everything for the Detroit Pistons, but that's kind of the point.

Detroit brought in Jackson as a consultant during its coaching search this past offseason, the result of a lasting friendship between Jackson and team owner Tom Gores. Whether Jackson was a pivotal part of the coaching quest—which yielded Maurice Cheeks—or was merely a mascot used to drum up the hype surrounding the Pistons offseason remains to be seen.

But the seed has been planted.

Dumars was given plenty of cap space to work with this summer, and he turned it into Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings. While these two players are no Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon, they're hardly the most desirable of catches. And Dumars invested more than $80 million in them combined over the next few years.

Such financial ventures are supposed to instill a sense of certainty, yet there's no guarantee the Pistons even make the playoffs with this group. Even if they do, a lackluster bench compounded by the checkered on-court pasts of Smith and Jennings make it difficult to believe that they'll finish higher than a sixth seed.

Giving Jackson control of the basketball decisions may require that the Pistons undo much of what Dumars did. But $80 million later, this team should be poised for more than an early playoff exit.

Were Jackson ever to spend that type of coin, it would go much further than a middling point guard and embattled forward.

That's something to keep in mind as we watch Dumars' latest vision toe the line between overrated and sumptuous disaster.

Los Angeles Lakers

Proposed Role: Anything

The Los Angeles Lakers need Jackson like Michael Beasley needs an intervention.

It doesn't matter in what capacity, so plunging into a long-winded soliloquy on why the Lakers need to fire Mike D'Antoni isn't necessary. Los Angeles just needs him inside Staples Center as more than Jeanie Buss' plus-one.

Agreeing to join the Lakers in a front-office capacity would require some sacrifice on the 11-time (coaching) champion's part, of course. In Tinseltown, he'll never have the type of control other organizations would be prepared to give him. The storied Lakers franchise sometimes doesn't bend to the past, as we saw last November when they went for the mustache over the titles.

Any hard feelings that may or may not exist would need to be quelled as well. Jackson would essentially need to do this for the team he helped steer toward five championships knowing full well he'd probably never usurp Mitch Kupchak or any of the Busses.

Not that we should rule out coaching. His unbridled fiance seems to believe he'll coach again, and if things between the Lakers and Magic Mike sour, no one is more qualified to guide Kobe Bryant and crew than Jackson.

The Lakers are also the only team I believe Jackson would actually coach again.

Coaching would be more demanding and thus require more of a commitment. Provided Jackson can work it so that such duties exact less of a toll on his health, he gives the Lake show one more piece to sell on prospective superstars next summer.

LeBron James? Carmelo Anthony? Kobe? And Phil? Unlikely as anything, but keeping the outrageous dream alive begins with bringing Jackson back—in any way possible.

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