New head coach of Los Angeles Lakers wouldn’t make Phil Jackson kind of salary: NBA News
Ever since Los Angeles (L.A) Lakers’ legendary coach Phil Jackson decided to retire, the search for his successor began. In the days that followed many names appeared on the horizon including ex- Houston Rocket coach Rick Adelman
and ex- Cleveland Cavaliers coach Mike Brown. But, the fact is that all of these names appeared as rumours and nothing can be said with assurity as to who will succeed the Hall of Fame coach.
However, one thing that is sure is that the eventual frontrunner of L.A’s coaching derby wouldn’t be making as much money as Jackson was earning. Jackson was at the top of the tree in NBA, when it came to a coach’s salary. He earned
$12 million in 2009-10 season and took a pay check of about $10 million in the previous season.
According to the sources, which are close with the Buss family (the owners of the Lakers franchise), the yearly income of the new Lakers coach is going to be around $3 million to $5 million. That is not even the half of what Jackson
was making, even if the new hire gets the best case scenario.
Still the earnings of new coach are going to be above the average National Basketball Association head coach salary, as the other league coaches average salary ranges from $2 million to $4million. So far the names that came in
front for the Lakers job are Jeff Van Gundy, Rick Adelman, Mike Dunleavy, Mike Brown and current assistant coach of Lakers Brian Shaw.
The major reason behind the pay cut is that Lakers wants to save some money as there is uncertainty regarding the NBA owners’ lockout. The lockout is looking a reality now as the deadline for the new Collective Bargaining Agreement is fast approaching (five
weeks away) and so far there is very little to almost no progress in negotiations between the players and owners.
In this regard, the Lakers have already taken few steps, as they have informed many of their employees from different departments including scouting, athletic training staff and video department that franchise is not going to renew
their contracts.
Among all the teams in the league, the Lakers have had a history of paying their coaches well. Jackson was understandably rewarded for his years of success, but L.A had also given Rudy Tomjanovich a five year pact which was worth $30 million in 2004 after Jackson
decided to retire at that point. However, the Lakers have officially ended the high-spending trend with the departure of Jackson.
It is not just that the Lakers hire coaches on high salaries they pay their players well too. L.A will top the list again when it comes to the NBA’s largest player payroll for the next season. At the moment, Los Angeles’ guaranteed
commitments to eight players in their current roster are worth $87.6 million. The above stat does not include Matt Barnes and Shannon Brown, as they have free agency option in the next season. Together the duo is worth $4.3 million.
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