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Jackson: "I'd Like to Have a Vodka" with Prokhorov

Phil Jackson, who has 10 championship rings as a coach and two more as a player, is in the final year of his current contract with the Los Angeles Lakers. He has expressed interest in returning to L.A. next season (or maybe retiring), but Lakers owner Jerry Buss reportedly wants his coach to take a pay cut from his $12 million salary. With the Lakers in the middle of the Western Conference finals, ESPN reports that both the Bulls and Nets have reached out through back channels to gauge Jackson's interest in coaching their team next year.

Jackson, asked about the reports before Tuesday's game, said he "can't imagine" coaching anywhere else and dismissed the possibility of returning to the Bulls.  As for the Nets, he finds them intriguing and said he'd "like to have a vodka" with Mikhail Prokhorov (who swears he doesn't touch the stuff).

Rod Thorn, who is still in the "fact-finding stage" of his coaching search and has yet to schedule any face-to-face interviews, denies the report. With the Hornets reportedly ready to make an offer to Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau, Al Iannazzone hints that Thorn may bend his rule about reaching out to candidates who are still in the playoffs. And on Twitter, Adrian Wojnarowski suggests nothing is going to happen until Mikhail Prokhorov and Thorn agree on a contract.  Meanwhile, Dave D'Alessandro runs through the pros and cons of Thibodeau and 11 other candidates.