Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant — two of the architects of the Lakers’ most recent dynasty — are struggling to add to their legacies this season. Meanwhile, the final member of that trio, Shaquille O’Neal, is being celebrated at every turn for his.
In recent months, it was announced that O’Neal is up for induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame. He also will have a statue built outside the Staples Center in Los Angeles and will have his number retired by the Heat.
O’Neal watched this week as Jackson, now Knicks president, fired his former teammate Derek Fisher as coach.
“It’s an unfortunate situation, I thought Phil would at least give him a little more time,” said O’Neal, now working as an analyst for TNT.
“It’s hard for Derek, a young guy with no coaching experience. I always wondered if the guys would really respect him as a coach or not. They know he won championships as a player, but when you go from player to coach, it’s a whole different ballgame. Again, we are not used to seeing New York and LA struggle at the same time, so it’s hard for everybody.”
Fisher’s firing comes as the Knicks limped into the All-Star break, losers of 10 of their past 11 games to fall to 12th place in the Eastern Conference and five games out of a playoff spot. Still, the Knicks’ first half was an overwhelming success compared to Bryant’s Lakers.
Los Angeles is 11-44 in Bryant’s farewell season, and the 37-year-old future Hall of Famer has often looked like an embarrassing shell of himself, while stunting the growth of potential future stars D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle.
“It’s hard watching the Lakers struggle and it’s a learning process for everybody,” O’Neal said of Bryant, with whom he won three titles.
“They probably have to scrap this year with so much concentration on Kobe’s farewell tour, but Kobe’s not there next year, so they’ll have to step up or feel the heat.”
This weekend could be the highlight of Bryant’s season. He was the leading vote-getter for Sunday’s All-Star Game in Toronto, where fans and his fellow players will have the opportunity to appreciate his career.
“Father Time catches up with us all,” O’Neal said. “So, I am sure he probably has a lot of aches and pains. The problem when you are a great player, they still expect you to do the same thing now you did when you were 19, 20 years old. … The NBA is doing a great job celebrating him. It’s kind of funny seeing him as kind of the old guy in the league. I remember when he came in, 18 years old, he put in a lot of work and he’s probably going to retire as the greatest Laker ever.”
For Jackson, the Feb. 18 trade deadline looms as he ponders who will replace interim coach Kurt Rambis as Fisher’s full-time successor.
“Phil is a very patient guy,” said O’Neal, who would not comment on the possibility of Jackson eventually going back to Los Angeles to run the Lakers.
“He will pick and pick and pick until he gets the perfect team that he wants. I don’t think anybody, even Phil, expects this team to go far or do much this season. But through draft or trade, he’ll get the right pieces.”