Jackson hints at future while in Whitefish

A dozen media members stood poised in the Whitefish Middle School courtyard Sunday afternoon, ready to type up and broadcast the nation's biggest sports story of the day.

Then, as quickly as Phil Jackson stepped to a podium near Second Street and Spokane Avenue, the Los Angles Lakers coach quashed any rumors buzzing in the yard about whether he was or wasn't going to retire. The 11-time NBA champion bluntly said at the top of the conference that he'd not made any decisions about next season.

His remarks at the podium were in stark contrast to a quip he made earlier during his keynote address at the Western Governors Association's 2010 conference, held in Whitefish June 27-29.

While telling his life story about growing up in Montana and the West, Jackson nearly took the air out of the school's auditorium when he hinted toward his future on the sidelines. Acknowledging that he'd won 13 championships all together — 11 as a coach, two as a player — he said 13 "is a hard number to stop at when you think about it."

He got some applause out of the governors and guests in attendance, but the remark also wedged a wrench into statements he made earlier in the week while still in Los Angles.

It was just June 23 — days after the game-seven win in the finals over Boston — that the 65-year-old coach said he was "leaning toward" retirement.

Health concerns are holding Jackson back from returning to the Lakers, he said at the Whitefish press conference. He said he'd rather not put the team in a situation similar to what the Denver Nuggets and their coach George Karl went through this season. Karl missed a chunk of time while undergoing throat cancer treatments, and Denver was bounced in the first round of the playoffs.

Jackson has knee and hip problems, and previous heart concerns.

During his keynote address, he reminisced about his childhood in the Flathead and how he caught his first rainbow trout in the Flathead River with a bamboo pole near Teakettle Mountain.

Jackson, who was born in Deer Lodge, talked about camping at Bowman Lake in Glacier National Park, picking huckleberries near the Hungry Horse Reservoir and skipping rocks across the Flathead River. The coach went on to speak about his travels across the West as an adult and how the region has shaped him as a person.

"What I've seen is part of my spiritual journey," he said.

Also of note, while introducing Jackson at the governors conference, Gov. Brian Schweitzer joked that the coach had made the decision to forego both retirement and coaching the Lakers, saying Jackson agreed to coach the Whitefish Bulldogs basketball team for free. Schweitzer said he looks forward to watching Jackson's triangle offense in Whitefish.