Throughout the 2011-12 NBA regular season, many believed that the 11-time NBA champion would ultimately become the new head coach of the New York Knicks after the resignation of Mike D’Antoni. With the Knicks removing the interim tag on Mike Woodson by giving him a contract extension, the return of the Zen Master to the NBA sidelines no longer seemed likely with limited coaching options for the Hall of Famer.
The most recent news involving Jackson is an offer from the Magic for arguably the greatest NBA head coach of all-time to join the team’s front office. This offer reportedly interested Jackson, but he ultimately backed out. There still remains a chance that he’d join the team with a proposal of Brian Shaw and Scottie Pippen also potentially coming to Orlando as members of the coaching staff.
After multiple interviews with big-name head coaches Jerry Sloan and Nate McMillan, the Magic seem to be in another direction by leaning towards hiring Shaw to be the new leader on the sidelines according to Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel:
“Shaw, by all accounts, is already the leading candidate for the Magic coaching job.”
There’s no telling at this point whether or not the hiring of Shaw will or will not happen without Phil Jackson in the equation, but the former Laker player and assistant to the Zen Master is one of the most sought after head coaching candidates in the league this summer.
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With that being said, if Shaw doesn’t end up becoming the new head coach of the Magic, there’s a good chance he could land somewhere else before next season. The Charlotte Bobcats is another option for Shaw as well as current Lakers assistant coach Quin Snyder who reportedly has interviewed for the job.