Rambis Not Bitter About Lakers’ Pursuit of Jackson

Kurt Rambis mingled with his fellow NBA coaches for one more day, then headed home from the Chicago pre-draft camp, though he admitted he wasn’t sure he would still be the Laker coach when he arrived.

With the Lakers’ pursuit of Phil Jackson out in the open, Rambis said Friday that he had been assured he could remain with the team in some capacity after leading the Lakers through three tumultuous months as interim coach.

And Rambis, speaking from O’Hare airport before boarding his plane back to L.A., stressed that he had “absolute” respect for Jackson and the Lakers’ interest in the former Chicago Bull coach.

“I would think that, as good a coach as he is, any coaching vacancy that is open in the league--all the teams should consider him,” Rambis said of Jackson.

“Look, the guy’s won six championships.”

Rambis had been given every indication since the end of the season that he probably would be returning as coach next season. But the official word never came, even when Rambis spent Wednesday with Executive Vice President Jerry West in Chicago.

But Rambis said he is not bitter about his awkward status.

Until his agent, Lon Rosen, spoke to West on Friday morning to confirm the emerging reports about the pursuit of Jackson, then called Rambis in Chicago, Rambis had not been told officially that he was no longer the top candidate.

“Regardless of what happens, I still have confidence in my abilities,” Rambis said. “So I don’t have anything to be ashamed about. I don’t know why other people would think I should be ashamed of anything.

“I’m not in control of the decision-making process. I still think I did a good job under the crazy circumstances under which I was given the job. There’s nothing more that I can do.”

Rambis said he wasn’t sure in what capacity he might stay with the Lakers if the Jackson deal goes through and said he would examine potential jobs outside the organization as they arose.

Rambis said that as he and the other coaches observed draft-eligible players, he was struck by how many of his NBA associates told him he had been handed an impossible situation in which to survive.

Does Rambis think he was given the same opportunity as would have been given Jackson or some other high-profile name to win the Laker job in this lockout-shortened, Dennis Rodman-infected season?

“No, not realistically,” Rambis said. “With no training camp, no practices and all the stuff that went on. I told you that all year long.

“Sitting here in Chicago, I’ve talked to all kinds of coaches who had difficult situations themselves, and all kinds of coaches told me they couldn’t believe what I was thrown into.”

Would Rambis, who removed himself from consideration for the open Sacramento and Clipper jobs last off-season, pursue other NBA coaching openings in the next few weeks?

“It all depends on which one it was, where it was, what the situation was,” Rambis said. “I haven’t been looking at anything else. That’s a hard question.”

Meanwhile, seven-year Laker assistant Larry Drew, also reached in Chicago, deferred comment on the situation, saying only that he had spoken to West on Friday morning and emphasized that, whomever is hired, he would like to remain on staff.