Can't you just see it?
It's midway through next season and the Lakers are in Memphis, the crowd apoplectic because L.A. is down by three as the final buzzer nears, and Kurt Rambis, like any other normal head coach on planet Earth, looks very much like he wants a timeout. But noooo . . .
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Saturday, June 27, 2009 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 4 National Desk 1 inches; 52 words Type of Material: Correction
Kurt Streeter column: In Thursday's Sports section, the Kurt Streeter column on the prospect of a Lakers co-coaching arrangement said that USC business professor Warren Bennis "at 84 works a part-time schedule himself." Bennis works full time. Also, the column said Lakers Coach Phil Jackson turns 65 in September. He turns 64.
Instead, Rambis digs in his pocket and fishes out his purple-and-gold iPhone, which has buzzed incessantly for the last minute. From Malibu, a text:
Timeout? Don't even think about it! Let them work it out, let them arrive at harmony amid chaos. This, my friend, is a teachable moment. Best wishes, Sensei Phil.
Of course, no timeout is called and the game comes down to the last possession and the Lakers have it. Rambis is a picture of calm as he watches the triangle offense run as it should -- Bryant to Bynum to Gasol to starting point guard Shannon Brown, who makes a mid-range jumper with two seconds left, sending Memphis fans home crying in their barbecued tri-tip.
Well, things may not play out exactly this way should the Lakers go forward with the co-head coaching arrangement recently bandied about: Phil Jackson running the team when it plays under the Staples Center klieg lights, then turning over the reins to coach-in-waiting Rambis when the team is on the road.
But it's a scenario not all that farfetched.
We're not sure if co-coaching will ever come to Lakersland -- note that on Tuesday Jackson told a radio audience it was a possibility while on Wednesday, in a keep-'em-guessing Hollywood twist, General Manager Mitch Kupchak said it wasn't.
But if the arrangement does become reality, even in a very limited form, we can reasonably expect Phil to be checking in from the home office on good occasion during halftimes. He'll be a regular on those grainy video-conference calls as he trots out his wipeboard to diagram inbounds defense, tells Bynum to step up, Odom to get a grip and Vujacic to calm down.
There's nothing to fear, Mr. Kupchak. No matter the logistical headaches it might cause -- for one thing, WiFi has a maddening way of fizzling out in fortress-like NBA locker rooms -- this uncommon coaching arrangement would be another stroke of good sense for your organization, which has done everything right over the last two seasons.
