Phil Jackson Defends Laker Management; Dismisses Kevin Garnett

Sometime last week Kevin Garnett told the LA Times that, despite being highly coveted by them, he never had any intention of joining the Los Angeles Lakers. Garnett basically said that he didn't want to deal with LA's comically mismanaged front office (KG is smart!); he'd had enough of that in Minnesota.

Phil Jackson, somewhat surprisingly, came to the Laker front office's defense and questioned Garnett's knowledge of the facts:

"Where did he get his information from?" Jackson said. "What does [his] statement mean? Does he even know our organization? ... I don't think anybody has a better winning record as an owner than Jerry Buss ... He doesn't want to win? I just kind of brush that off as not understanding the situation."

I was a tad surprised to see Jackson standing behind Buss and company so firmly; oftentimes one gets the feeling that he agrees wholeheartedly with KG's opinion of the Laker franchise (to say nothing of his own disgruntled super-duper star, Kobe Bryant).

To be fair, Jackson does find himself in a bit of a tight spot, and it wouldn't do him much good to criticize the boss: Jerry Buss is not only the man who signs his checks, but Phil is sleeping with his daughter.