Jackson is such a diva:
When Phil Jackson met with Los Angeles Lakers executive vice president Jim Buss and general manager Mitch Kupchak on Saturday, he asked for travel restrictions, a salary in line with what he previously earned with the Lakers and significantly more say over basketball decisions, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.
The travel restrictions would limit the number of road games Jackson would have to attend, a source told ESPN.
http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/8616281/sources-phil-jackson-meets-los-angeles-lakers-brass
A coach who doesn't travel to (some) road games? What a joke. Talk about commitment to the team, huh?
I hate having to try to be fair to Phil Jackson, but wasn't his "retirement" because his body was/is breaking down? Like, horrible, horrible back pain? He's one of the alltime great egotists, but he doesn't need to come back for the money or the glory, he's got plenty of both. Is it just the physical pain of being cramped onto long flights that's keeping him away?
I'm sure that's part of the reason he wants to limit his travel, still he's the coach of the team and that requires traveling with the team when at all possible. If you're physically unable to do so, then you probably aren't healthy enough to be an NBA coach.
Well, isn't that why he *isn't* an NBA coach right now? He's said that his dream job was coaching the Knicks, there's no doubt in my mind he could have had that job if he wanted it. If the Lakers are going to convince him to return, they're going to have to REALLY make it worth his while (which is why I'm not sure he does come back).
EDIT: I'm not trying to defend Phil Jackson here, but if someone was trying desperately to hire me to do something that was going to put me in agonizing physical pain several times a week... I sure as hell would be looking for ways to minimize that as best I could.