Will Phil stay or go?

Only Phil Jackson knows whether he will sign a new contract and continue coaching the Lakers or whether he will call it quits and retire to his place in Montana. Here’s a postgame quote from Thursday night that makes it seem as if his connection to the Lakers makes it impossible to walk away from such a good thing:

“I frequently cry, I really do. But not tonight. … It’s about the joy for this group of guys that put so much work out. We tax these guys. We make them go through all kinds of difficult things over the course of a year.

“We ask them to play injured … and they’re a very willing group, and I’m very proud of them and very happy for them. I think that’s really the joy. To have put in 114 games and coming out this way at the end, there’s a certain sense of gratification.

“And that’s what I have to believe in.”