That controversial remark echoed over and over in his mind.
All along, he had thought something like this only happened to players desperate enough to do anything for a championship ring. He clearly remembered how, when Pippen fell out with the Bulls management, the Knicks had offered him a massive contract. Scottie had taken it as the ultimate humiliation and roared at the media, "Even if I, Scottie Pippen, starve to death or jump off this place, I will never wear a Knicks jersey!"
That was the dignity and pride of a true elite competitor.
But what about Phil Jackson?
As the godfather of a dynasty who had led his team to four championships, as the "Zen Master" who had masterminded everything beside Michael Jordan, did he not even possess that much backbone?
For two straight years, his Bulls Dynasty Forum had fallen at the feet of Li Fei and his team.
One Finals loss, two Eastern Conference Finals losses—those had almost been the darkest moments of his coaching career.
Every defeat was like a needle driven deep into his heart.
And now, he was going to join the enemy who had personally ended his dynasty? To coach the opponent who had left him bitterly defeated for three consecutive years?
If word got out, what would the outside world think of him?
How would the media judge him?
And what would those Chicago fans who had once worshipped him as a god feel?
He would no longer be the legendary coach who had built a great legacy alongside Jordan. He would become a "defector" who had bowed and scraped before his sworn enemy for money and power.
The reputation and pride he had built over a lifetime would be stained beyond redemption.
Going to the Lakers meant carrying on and