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(Sports Network) - Los Angeles Lakers head coach Phil Jackson, fresh off a record 10th NBA Championship as a coach, discussed the possibility of coaching an abbreviated amount of games next season in a radio interview on Tuesday.
Jackson, who turns 64 in September, cited health concerns in an ESPN Radio interview in Los Angeles as the sole reason behind any forthcoming decision that would have the Hall of Fame coach unable to fulfill the final year of his current contract.
Among the scenarios discussed was having assistant Kurt Rambis take over head coaching duties for select and possibly all of the Lakers road contests in 2009-10. Jackson acknowledged it's an idea that has been discussed internally among Lakers brass and that he intends to have further conversations to that end with general manager Mitch Kupchak.
Jackson agreed on a two-year contract extension in November of 2007 but has since felt the rigors of the road following a pair of hip replacement surgeries. The "Zen Master" specifically discussed continued discomfort in his lower legs during Tuesday's interview and cited longtime assistant Tex Winter's stroke last year as another reason to give pause to what would be a 19th year of coaching.
Jackson gave way to Rambis for LA's first preseason game in Utah this past season rather than make a 90-minute bus ride, then skipped an April regular- season game in Portland with the team coming off a long road trip.
For Jackson, his 10th championship surpassed the legendary Red Auerbach for the most in history. Coaching his 300th career playoff game, Jackson also passed Bill Russell (11) for most titles won by a player/coach as LA finished off Orlando in Game 5 of the Finals a little more than a week ago. It was his fourth championship in Los Angeles, having previously guided Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls to six titles in the 1990s.
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