So Zen-master Phil Jackson wants to abandon Grasshopper and return to coaching?

Interesting.

The argument against Phil is that he never won without Michael or Shaq or Kobe. True, but the Celtics were winning title after title for Red Auerbach he wasn’t exactly coaching Blair Rasmussen and Jon Koncak. Red had legit all-stars too and no one discredits him for that. Maybe some things get better with age. Like Celtic memory.

The question is – where would Phil coach if he did come back?

My odds…

Knicks 50 to 1
Sure he has history with the franchise but NY has a TON of dead weight, both in players and money tied into contracts. That team won’t be free to navigate and sign anyone for a long time. Phil wants to win now, thus, nix the Knicks.

Cavs 20 to 1
Coaching LeBron might be fun, but the rest of the team isn’t all-star. That team isn’t close to winning a title either and there’s no telling if the young Mr. James will still be in Ohio in two seasons. I don’t expect this to happen either. Phil wants to win soon, not when LeBron is 26.

Lakers 5 to 1
He tried this once. It worked…and didn’t work. Kobe wanted to run everything, so he ran Shaq and Phil out of town and the team tanked before the playoffs. The only reason I pick this one so high is the team stinks now, but isn’t permanently broken. Kobe was in charge – and they weren’t good. If Phil comes back and the Lakers win, Mr. Jackson gets all the credit. If they continue to lose he can always blame it on Kobe and leave again, working on another tell-all book.

Wolves 3 to 1
I consider this the favorite. KG is still viable, they can dump Cassell and Sprewell and make moves if they feel like it. The team is in a good position and until this season was a threat in the Western Conference. Next year? Denver won’t surprise anyone, neither will Phoenix, San Antonio will likely be worse and Houston may have taken their game as high as it’ll go. Minnesota could be in good position to make a move- with the right coach.

I don’t know if Phil would take the job in Minnesota – but it wouldn’t be such a bad idea.