Phil Jackson’s NBA obituary:

I dont think Jackson is ever coming back. Nothing can top those Jordan years for him. It’s impossible. He already had his holy grail. In El Segundo, our conversation kept circling back to MJ, and really, that’s why we ended up having lunch in the first place: Jackson had quoted a Jordan argument from my NBA book in two separate interviews that we need to stop looking for another Michael Jordan, because it’s never happening, making me wonder, “Wait, did he read my book?” As it turned out, he had simply thumbed through it in a store for a few minutes before buying it for Odom for Christmas.

Was it telling that he thumbed through a 700-page book just to read the Jordan section? You tell me.

Phil Jackson, who on Sunday told reporters that he’s retiring, led the Chicago Bulls to their first NBA title 20 years ago.

Everything about Jackson’s background suggests a man who has learned to weigh the warring impulses inside him and pursue a system of beliefs and behavior that eludes precise characterization. Compared to most coaches, he comes across like a philosophy professor, a little soft, a little trippy, a little abstract. But put him outside the athletic world, and he would probably come across like an ex-jock or a coach—competitive and driven. Jackson is comfortable on his philosophical tightrope, reaching out to touch something over here, then something way over there, straddling two worlds, listening to all sides, getting along with everyone.