Jeanie Buss may be pining for Phil Jackson, which is odd, considering the fact that they are engaged.
But it's Jackson's basketball operations skills that his fiancee and Lakers owner covets, according to The New York Post.
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"I'm not going to say that was not always my hope at some point," Buss said on Bleacher Report radio of Jackson having a Lakers front-office position, the Post reported. "But it was made clear to me by my brother [Jim] and [general manager] Mitch Kupchak, we didn't need any more voices involved with the Lakers, that they felt they had everything under control. I respect that, but had to respect Phil's desire to work again. He had to pursue whatever made him happy.
"Would I have preferred to do it together? Of course, but I'm happy he's doing something that makes him happy.''
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Jackson, whom Jim Buss and Kupchak jilted in 2012 as they were searching for a coaching replacement for the fired Mike Brown, eventually signed a five-year, $60 million contract to become team president of the Knicks.
New York, which won just 17 games during Jackson's first season, already is 8-10 in 2015-16 behind NBA draft sensation Kristaps Porzingis.
The Lakers, meanwhile, fell to 2-15 Tuesday night after losing to the previously winless 76ers (1-18), a far cry from Jim Buss' preseason assessment of the franchise "turning the corner" with the addition of first-round draft picks D'Angelo Russell (No. 2 overall in 2015) and Julius Randle (No. 7 overall in 2014 but missed last season with a broken leg suffered in the season opener),
Instead, the season has turned into Kobe Bryant's retirement party and nothing more.
Los Angeles won a franchise-worst 21 games in the first year of Jim Buss' three-year rebuilding project. He revealed before last year that he told his family that he would step down in three seasons if the Lakers weren't again contenders -- as they were when Jackson coached them to five NBA championships from 2000-2010.
But he "has hinted he may not fulfill the entire pact," the Post added. "The Lakers are always looming."
Jeanie Buss and Jackson share a home in Playa del Rey, Calif., but she said she is struggling with their long-distance relationship.
"I think he works hard. He took a job that's difficult," Jeanie said. "He moved to New York. That part's tough is that we're not together. He's finding satisfaction and fulfillment in the job. I wish him luck. The best thing would be if the Lakers and Knicks played in the playoffs because that would mean we're both in The Finals. I wish him luck. I think he's enjoying what he's doing. He's fully focused.
"We're not the first couple that have been bicoastal. We try to see each other, but it's tough. In terms of the entertainment business, we're not the first long-distance couple.''
Jeanie, however, has the final say on all Lakers matters, and if it means pushing out her brother to bring her boyfriend back to Los Angeles, it's well within her powers.
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