Phil Jackson won his first six NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls. Those could have been eight had Michael Jordan not taken a hiatus. But had the "Zen Master" wanted to, he could have moved to another team.
In the 1995-96 season, Jackson had that chance. However, coaching another team would depend on a lot of factors. The New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets were looking for a new head coach to take over from Butch Beard at the time.
With Jackson's future with the Bulls at the time unclear, his name popped up as a potential candidate. Although Phil was flattered that his name was popping up as a choice for the Nets vacant head coaching job, the 1985 CBA Coach of the Year seemed hardly bent on considering the role.
"I'd have to sit down a long time and think about the challenge. What's there for you is the possibility of failure," Jackson said at the time via the New York Times .
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Against All Odds
Aside from Jackson, Rick Pitino was another name being floated for the head coaching vacancy. According to the Los Angeles Times, the NCAA champion coach turned down a lucrative five-year offer estimated to be worth around $30 million.
Shunning such a generous offer signaled that money was not everything to be successful in coaching. Jackson understood where Pitino was coming from, admitting that turning the Nets' fortunes around would take a lot.
"You're mired in a swamp in New Jersey. The Meadowlands is the perfect term for that place, and you'd have to pick it up and put on the summit. It's incredible odds. So I can see where Rick said, 'The money's not worth it,'" the 1996 Coach of the Year pointed out .
The multi-titled coach would stay in Chicago until 1998. At that point, he had already led the Bulls to six NBA titles. However, with a rift brewing between Jackson and then-general manager Jerry Krause, the dream run had to end. Despite the adversity, Jackson admitted that it was hard to say goodbye to a team where he had been part of the coaching staff for 12 years.
"There is no other option. We've agreed that's what is going on and that this is the direction we are going as a basketball team," Jackson stated via the Associated Press.
Jackson would take a year off and return in 1999 to coach the Los Angeles Lakers. With players like Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant at his disposal, the Montana native would rack up five more NBA championships to bump up his ring count to 11.
That would be his last hurrah as a coach, shifting his attention to a front-office position. He had the chance with the Knicks, but Phil ended up getting dismissed in 2017
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