Buss, Jackson Have Exploratory Talks

It was Jerry Buss’ turn to dine with Phil Jackson on Tuesday night.

A day after Jackson had met with New York Knick President Isiah Thomas in Los Angeles, the Laker owner spent some time with the former Laker coach, gauging Jackson’s interest in returning to the game. Jackson had initially said there was only a 50-50 chance of his coming back next season.

Jackson’s agent, Todd Musburger, was not present, and Buss did not make a formal offer to Jackson, who could command an annual salary of about $10 million. Jackson made $6 million in his final season with the Lakers, the same as Rudy Tomjanovich was earning before he quit halfway through the first season of a five-year contract.

Buss is said to be lukewarm about a reunion but is exploring the possibility and conducting due diligence.

Jackson has warmed up to the concept of coaching next season and has been contacted by at least five teams, the Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers being the most aggressive.

Jackson has been to Laker headquarters in El Segundo numerous times over the last two months to have lunch with girlfriend and Laker executive Jeanie Buss, and he sat in Jerry Buss’ luxury box for a game earlier this month. But Jackson’s agent said there were no formal meetings planned with Laker officials.

“It is hard for me to gauge the interest, since I have not been involved with any conversations with them since last year during the playoffs,” said Musburger, who returned Tuesday afternoon to Chicago. “They’re not quite as busy this year as they were last year. I still haven’t heard from anybody personally, but I don’t draw anything from that. Obviously, Phil has a close relationship with Jeanie and has a good relationship with everyone in the organization that I can think of. If the Lakers are seriously interested, I’m sure they’ll proceed very much along the lines that other clubs are proceeding.”

Musburger was at Monday’s dinner with Jackson and Thomas and called the meeting “long, productive and interesting” but said there were “no bulletins to come from it.”

“It’s no secret that Phil is in demand and he has several important decisions awaiting him,” Musburger said. “He’ll take whatever time is necessary to sort it out.”

The Lakers and Jackson split in surprisingly swift fashion last June, Buss telling Jackson the Lakers “were going in a different direction,” a finality Jackson described as unsettling in his tell-all diary of last season.

Jackson would also have to settle differences with Kobe Bryant, whom he labeled “uncoachable” in his book. Musburger said Tuesday there were no meetings planned with Bryant.

Bryant maintains he is open to whomever the Lakers hire, but he has reserved most of his praise for Larry Brown, who could be in his final year with the Detroit Pistons.

Brown is under contract for three more years, but he and the Pistons have quarreled throughout the season over personnel matters. The Pistons were also irritated in January when Brown said his dream job would be to coach the Knicks.

“I love him,” Bryant said in February. “I’ve been fortunate to have sat down and talked with him in the past about basketball things and stuff like that. If he’s available to be considered, I’m sure he’s one of the guys that [General Manager] Mitch [Kupchak] and Dr. Buss would consider.”

Bryant has been tepid when asked about Jackson, saying he would “roll with it” if that was the way the Lakers went.

Bryant felt burned by Jackson’s book, which came out last October and detailed what Jackson called “an unavoidable” conflict with Bryant that hampered the Lakers’ shot at a title.

“I do know that there were many occasions this year when I felt like there was a psychological war going on between us,” Jackson wrote. “Amazingly, we came to a truce, even to a higher level of trust. Ultimately, though, I don’t believe we developed enough trust between us to win a championship.”

Jackson also revealed that he’d complained to Kupchak about Bryant in January 2004 and demanded the team trade Bryant.

“I won’t coach this team next year if he is still here,” Jackson said during a tirade, according to his book. “He won’t listen to anyone. I’ve had it with this kid.”