Bulls Take First Step at Staying Together

Phil Jackson has signed on for one more year--and one year only.

Jackson on Thursday signed a contract to coach the 1996-97 season for the Chicago Bulls, the team he guided to the best record in NBA history this past season.

“It’s exactly what I wanted,” he said at a news conference. “I’ve always said there’s a certain amount of time a coach has. Long term is something that right now I don’t want to discuss because one year is about what I have to give.”

Jackson, in fact, thought the season just ended would be his last. But that was before the league-record 72 regular-season victories. That was before a fourth championship in six years, capped by a six-game triumph over Seattle in the NBA finals. That was before he was named the league’s coach of the year.

“I thought it was going to be the farewell tour this year because it was my seventh year,” said Jackson, a proponent of Zen philosophy who thinks life cycles last seven years. “But this team came together in such a way that it was impossible to walk away.

“I don’t plan to leave. I have no plans. But I will say this: My kids are graduating [from high school in 1997] and that is something that is a timetable for me. That’s as honest as I can be.”

Financial terms were not disclosed, but Jackson reportedly will be paid $2.7 million, making him the league’s third-highest paid coach next season. Miami’s Pat Riley and New Jersey’s John Calipari will make $3 million; both also act as their teams’ general managers.

Jackson and owner Jerry Reinsdorf had been elusive in recent weeks, leading to speculation the coach might not come back next season. During the NBA finals, Jackson said he would take a year off rather than accept an unsatisfactory offer.

Jackson acknowledged that Calipari’s contract “changed the parameters” in his negotiations.

“I just hope what I’ve done is raise the bar for all coaches,” Calipari said Thursday. “I’ve always said until the coaches are paid like the third- or fourth-highest paid player on the team, it’s hard to coach.”

Jackson, 50, has the NBA’s best regular-season winning percentage ever at .721 (414-160) and the best playoff mark at .723 (81-31). This year’s championship follows titles in 1991, 1992 and 1993.

It was unclear how Jackson’s one-year contract will affect negotiations with Michael Jordan and Dennis Rodman.

“We intend to work very hard to sign Michael and Dennis,” Krause said, “and keep this team intact.”

Jordan said last week that Jackson was the main reason the Bulls won the title.

“Phil has been able to mesh all the different personalities and experiment to where we’ve been successful,” Jordan said. “People think this is an easy team to coach. But with a guy like Dennis, who as we all know is very different, and other guys with unique personalities, it’s not that easy. Phil is the best coach in the world.”

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Big Bucks

A look at how Phil Jackson rates on the NBA coaches’ pay scale:

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Coach Salary 1. *Pat Riley, Heat $3 million 2. John Calipari, Nets $3 million 3. Phil Jackson, Bulls $2.7 million 4. **Don Nelson, unemployed $1.8 million 5. Larry Brown, Pacers $1.8 million

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* includes option to buy part of team

**Fired by Knicks