Cavs Speak to Phil Jackson

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http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2050145

Cavs, Jackson spoke this weekESPN.com news services


The Cleveland Cavaliers acknowledged Friday that they have initiated contact with coaching free agent Phil Jackson, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein.

The Cavaliers confirmed to Stein that the club's new management team -- which is looking for a coach and a GM -- had its first coversation with Jackson this week.

Cleveland is widely considered the No. 3 suitor for Jackson behind the Lakers and Knicks. Yet it can be argued that the Cleveland situation is more attractive, in pure basketball terms, than either of the marquee teams with whom Jackson still has emotional ties.

Moving up quickly in the standings would be easier for the Cavs, in the East, than for the financially strapped Knicks or for the Lakers in the mighty West … mainly because of the presence of LeBron James on the roster. The Cavaliers are also expected have considerable salary-cap room this summer to re-shape their roster around James.

It's also believed that new owner Dan Gilbert would be willing to outbid the Lakers or the Knicks for Jackson.

Jackson has already talked to both the Knicks and Lakers about their head coaching positions.

Jackson had a "very good" meeting with Knicks president Isiah Thomas on Monday in Los Angeles, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith reported.

And ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher reported that Jackson already has spoken to Lakers owner Jerry Buss and plans to speak with him again soon.

Jackson also was scheduled to meet with Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles this week, according to Bucher.


However, sources close to Bryant said that he has not heard from Jackson about a possible meeting between the two. The sources said Bryant would not be opposed to such a get-together.

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:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

Apparently Gilbert has talked to Phil Jackson. Gilbert taking a step in the right direction.

I especially like this part..

It's also believed that new owner Dan Gilbert would be willing to outbid the Lakers or the Knicks for Jackson.

Gilbert willing to spend to get what he wants! :w00t:

 

[Karma]

I dont rate our chances much despite the LeBron and cap space factor. We are still the Cavalier's which ill forever haunt us. But hey, at least we are trying, and I respect that.

 

[Mac]

Def good news...hopefully we can land him.

 

[NarlCavs]

I'm surprised the meeting with Jackson was kept so quiet. It's good to see Gilbert making a move. He has to find out now if Jackson is a real possibility. If not then move on so the Cavs don't lose out on other top candidates.
I still can't see Phill coming to Cleveland but who knows?

Wonder if anything if being done with the GM hire? That was supposed to be the 1st step.

 

[Glen Infante]

If Phil decides to go to New York, I will hurl my brains out. Why on Earth would he want to coach a team so terribly put together? His infatuation with NY is a bit too deep, he needs to think about going to a winning franchise.

I seriously don't think LA is a possibility for him. He already displayed his views on Kobe, and why go back there to face him again? To add to that, Shaq is gone. No reason to coach the Lakers other than the good weather.

 

[jason436]

Well I think if you can land Phil Jackson as a coach the plan of signing a GM first probably goes out the window. I would think that Phil would want some say in who is GM would be. I keep wondering how he got along with B.J. Armstrong who is currently an assistant GM with the Bulls.

 

[Coyote]

If PhilJ comes to the Cavs, I think it's 90% certain he'll also be the GM. Personally, I'm fine with that. But one question. He had more say in building the Lakers around Kobe and Shaq, but I never sensed a strong team cohesiveness there. I know about Kobe v. Shaq. But what of those other moves - getting Malone; Fox, Devean George - did PhilJ have his hands in? Would y'all say that his experiences in Chicago, butting heads with Krause, helped him learn how to pick talent? Or does he still really need a GM?

If he goes to NYC, he's a martyr. Maybe he'll win a championship there in, oh, I don't know, 5 or 7 years. If he goes to LA, he's whipped. Keep pushin', Gilbert!

 

[Mad Hatter]

I can't see why Phil Jackson, or any coach, would want to go to the Knicks unless they are offering that much more than EVERYONE else. The Knicks are in terrible shape as a franchise - a mediocre team with a payroll more than 2x the current cap. And they are going to be mediocre for at least a few more seasons. They are going absolutely nowhere.

The Lakers, with a few smart additions, could be a pretty good team again; but, I doubt Jackson will want to deal with Kobe again. Those two just don't like each other at all. As someone else mentioned in another thread, Jackson was probably meeting with the Lakers more because of his girlfriend who works with the Lakers (and is the owner's daughter).

We are clearly a much better situation than those two teams. However, there is one other team - Minnesota - that I think could intrigue Jackson, IF they were willing to pay up. They have the superstar in KG, and the Wolves are a solid all-around team that clearly underachieved this year. They are in a similar situation to how the Bulls and Lakers were before Jackson arrived. However, the Wolves are rarely mentioned in the articles about Jackson.

 

[TyGuy]

I dont think Phil would want to be the gm. That is just too much work. He would probably have say in who comes int otown to be the new gm though. I think if you add a joe johsnon, mike redd or ray ray, this squad is perfect for triangle. We wshould have a killer half-court team with a post in z, bron the jack of all trades superstar and the side kick who can step outside and bomb in a joe johsnon.

 

[NarlCavs]

If Jackson does come to Cleveland (still a very big if), the Cavs would probably be adding veteran players since Jackson has always had veteran teams and has never really developed young talent. There would also have to be roster changes to get players who would fit in the triangle offense Jackson would bring with him.

I hope the Jackson situation gets resolved quickly. I'd hate to see this drag out and then end up losing out on him anyway.