He had coached Roger, but the Bulls, faced with a critical decision, chose Michael Jordan.
If the Bulls had made a different choice back then, Phil Jackson might already have his hands full of championship rings by now.
The Zen Master shook his head; on the basketball court, "what ifs" are meaningless.
He needed to solve the immediate problem at hand, which was how to balance Kobe and Shaq.
O'Neal never knew how to control the locker room, and Kobe never wanted to play second fiddle like Pippen.
This was the most challenging locker room dynamic Phil Jackson had ever experienced in his coaching career.
Phil Jackson hesitated for a long time and finally took out his phone and made a call.
The person on the other line seemed to know this call was coming, so he answered quickly, "I'm sorry about everything that happened tonight, Phil."
"You were right not to choose a comeback with the Lakers, Michael, we're really not championship material yet," Phil said.
