Jackson Is Happy in L.A., but . . .

Coach Phil Jackson, a former New York Knick player who had an informal meeting with Knick executive David Checketts last spring, reiterated that there never were any serious negotiations to bring him to the New York.

“It was just initial kind of talks,” said Jackson, whose Lakers face the Knicks for the first time today at Madison Square Garden. “And Dave and I have known each other a long time throughout the years. But [until then] we never sat down and had a private discussion.

“He just wanted to describe where his team was without anything else but questions, and that’s all that went on.”

In the weeks after the secret meeting, the Knicks and Coach Jeff Van Gundy made a surprise drive to the NBA finals, Van Gundy was rewarded with a contract extension by the Knicks, and Jackson landed his first-choice job with the Lakers.

But he said the idea of returning to work and live in New York was appealing.

“Having been there and understood it, understood the press, the type of life that you have to live . . . all those things, there was a lot of intrigue about living in New York,” he said.

“You know, the aspect to have a life that’s full of hassles. . . . There’s a certain grit and nature about teams that play in New York. . . . [Teams] that win, they have really gutty performances, are demanded to have that kind of competitiveness that goes along with making it in that city. So it creates its own winning atmosphere.”

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Shaquille O’Neal, averaging 40.6 points over his last six games despite a sore right hamstring, had a big smile on his face when asked about his next two assignments--facing Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Mourning in consecutive games against the Knicks and Miami Heat.

“Two dominant big men,” O’Neal said, emphasizing the first adjective with a wink. “I just have to be ready.

“Hopefully, my leg is feeling a little better so I can come out there with all my [moves]. They’re great players. Just do what I’ve been doing.”

Do Ewing and Mourning, both shot blockers from Georgetown, have a similar defensive style against him?

“Yeah, they foul,” O’Neal said. “They play me the same way, the foul way. . . . The only way to stop me is to foul me.”

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Jackson said he still wasn’t thrilled, but that he could live with the NBA’s decision to drop its threat to impose $100,000 fines if coaches refused to wear microphones during NBC and TNT games and instead employ boom mikes to pick up discussions here and there during timeouts.

“Well, I always have a mobile huddle--that’s one of the things that I’m known for,” said Jackson, who spends most timeouts with his assistants before pulling his players away from the bench for a quick talk.

“My huddles are very unexciting. Perhaps I have the worst in the league as far as huddles go.”

And if the NBA hadn’t compromised on the issue?

“I would’ve gone willing into slaughter like the rest of these guys, because it’s something that we have to stand up for,” Jackson said.

Today

at New York

9 a.m. PST, Channel 4

* Site--Madison Square Garden.

* Radio--KLAC (570).

* Records--Lakers 54-12, Knicks 40-24.

* Record vs. Knicks (1999)--1-0.

* Update--The Lakers were predictably sluggish in a loss to the Houston Rockets the only other time they were forced to tip off before noon Pacific time. What’s Jackson’s plan for this one? “Coffee before the game,” he said.