According to earlier reports, Hall of Fame head coach Phil Jackson is playing a significant role in the Los Angeles Lakers' search for a new head coach. Jackson has a lot of history with the franchise so it isn't at all surprising that the Lakers asking for some advice from the 13-time NBA champion coach.
Stephen A. Smith is having none of it, though. On a recent episode of First Take, the ESPN analyst explained why he firmly believes that Jackson has no business being involved in the Lakers' front office decisions:
“If they were looking for a new general manager or a new president of basketball operations, I would call the Los Angeles Lakers franchise the biggest idiots on the planet,” Smith said. “Because Phil Jackson should never be allowed to be an executive again. A matter of fact, I'm still so salty about the job he did in New York. I'd prefer that he'd be banned from New York. I don't think he should be allowed in the state. That's how bad of a job he did.”
Smith did dial it back a bit by explaining how he has much more respect for Jackson as a coach. Smith even talked up Jackson's vision as a coach by pointing out that he originally wanted Steve Kerr to be the Knicks head coach before team owner James Dolan “got in the way.”
What is clear here is that Smith is not a fan of Phil Jackson as a league executive. I think he made that point abundantly clear.
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