Tomjanovich Resigns as Laker Coach

Rudy Tomjanovich ended his tenure as the Lakers’ coach Wednesday after just 43 games, resigning because of physical and emotional difficulties that he called “the wear and tear of doing this business.”

Tomjanovich, 56, walked away from a five-year, $30-million contract he signed last July, saying the highs and lows became more pronounced with every Laker win and loss this season.

Tomjanovich will remain with the team as a consultant at a much reduced salary through the 2006-07 season. Assistant coach Frank Hamblen was named as his replacement, but it was unclear whether Hamblen would finish the season or be replaced by Phil Jackson -- who departed last June after coaching the Lakers to three NBA championships in five years -- or someone else.

Sources said other candidates could include Detroit Pistons Coach Larry Brown and Miami Heat President and former Laker coach Pat Riley, though neither would be available until after the season.

Jackson, vacationing in Australia with one of his former players, was said to be on a boat near Rottnest Island, catching lobsters and cooking them under the stars off the west coast of Australia. Sources said the Lakers are open to a possible reunion with Jackson, but that no official communication about a job offer has occurred. Jackson was said to be out of cellphone range until Friday at the earliest.

Tomjanovich, in a somber, expansive news conference at the Lakers’ El Segundo training facility, said that as the season wore on, “I started to feel my resistance going down. I went from this energetic, pumped-up guy to being sapped of my energy.”

He cheered the selection of Hamblen -- “I really am pulling for him,” he said -- though a bit later, Hamblen endorsed the rehiring of Jackson.

“If I owned a team or was in charge, I’d want Phil Jackson, also,” Hamblen said, “Absolutely. He’s got nine [championship] rings.”

And with that, a day that began with Tomjanovich’s tearful goodbye to players in the Laker locker room had taken a final unexpected turn.

Tomjanovich, appearing drained, said he would never coach again and acknowledged that he probably tried to come back too soon after being diagnosed with bladder cancer while coaching the Houston Rockets in March 2003.

“Maybe I’m an old general who needs to get ... off the front line and do something else,” he said.

Tomjanovich will remain with the team as a personnel consultant and will probably become a scout, a position he held when he returned to the Rockets in the fall of 2003 after cancer treatment.

“We are very sorry that Rudy’s stay as the Lakers’ coach was so short,” Laker owner Jerry Buss said in a statement. “We respect Rudy’s concerns for his health, which is of course the paramount issue. While he won’t be our coach, I’m very pleased that he’ll be contributing to our success in a different but still important capacity.”

Health issues aside, however, some Laker players thought Tomjanovich’s coaching techniques had become outdated, sources said. In addition, team executives were said to be concerned about the team’s inconsistency on offense and the lack of playing time for young forwards Slava Medvedenko and Luke Walton.

The first clear signal that something was wrong came Sunday morning -- two days after a disquieting loss to the undermanned New Jersey Nets -- when Tomjanovich called Hamblen and Laker trainer Gary Vitti to say he was feeling ill. Tomjanovich missed practice that day because of what Laker officials said was a stomach virus.

Laker General Manager Mitch Kupchak said he spoke Sunday afternoon with Tomjanovich, who also missed that night’s game, a victory over the Charlotte Bobcats in which Hamblen served as head coach.

Kupchak said he spoke with Tomjanovich again Monday.

“Halfway through the conversation, it was clear that his general health had transcended the common flu and there were issues brought to the surface that might not go away,” Kupchak said.

Late Monday afternoon, Kupchak went to Tomjanovich’s Pacific Palisades home, where they decided that Tomjanovich should resign.Tomjanovich also missed Tuesday night’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers, also a Laker victory. Tomjanovich finished with a 24-19 record as Laker coach and is credited with the victories for both games he missed.

After Tomjanovich was diagnosed with cancer, he turned to a diet that consisted mainly of raw foods, juice, salad and fruits. He had scrapped that routine after taking over the Lakers, often drinking diet cola before meetings with the media, as he did during Wednesday’s news conference. His meals on the road often consisted of fast food.

Tomjanovich, who sought treatment for alcoholism in 1998, said Wednesday he had maintained his sobriety despite the recent turbulence.

“I’m so happy about that,” Tomjanovich said, raising his left fist in the air. “I could have gone the other way. I’m very happy and grateful.”

Tomjanovich said Wednesday he consulted a doctor a couple of weeks ago and was given an anti-depressant. When that wasn’t working, he said he switched to “something stronger than that.” He declined to specify the latter medication but said he is no longer taking it.

“I didn’t like the fact that I was going to start taking medication so I could do my job,” said Tomjanovich, who said the second medication he was given had addictive qualities. “I never had to do that before.”

Regardless, he said, the grinding feeling he experienced after losses and the short-lived euphoria he felt after victories eventually forced his hand.

Tomjanovich recently said he had been buoyed by his daughter, a psychiatrist, who reminded him of how he had accomplished past successes through perseverance.

“She’s just sort of keeping me up as far as the way my career has gone,” Tomjanovich said Jan. 18. “I’ve never had a stacked deck. I don’t think I’ll ever be in a situation where everything’s laid out perfectly.

“It’s always been the hard road. It hasn’t been like a superhighway where I’m in a limo and I’m going up to the mountain. It’s like I’m in the jungle and I’ve got a machete and I’ve got to find a way through it.”

Jackson is believed to be intrigued by the current Laker roster, which he feels is close to championship caliber.

He is said to be impressed with the potential of forward Lamar Odom, and he likes center Chris Mihm and forward Caron Butler, young players who are still developing. Jackson is obviously familiar with Kobe Bryant’s ability to dominate, and win, many games.

In an e-mail to The Times on Tuesday, when asked whether he was considering scenarios in which he would return as the Lakers’ coach, he responded, “[I am] mulling that over in my mind.”The Lakers would have to do some thinking of their own before giving Jackson an offer. First would be soothing relations between Jackson and Bryant.

Jackson portrayed Bryant as an uncoachable enigma in his season diary published in October. Jackson wrote of a “psychological war” going on between Bryant and him, and he said he was enraged enough by Bryant’s apparent defiance to go to Kupchak in January 2004 with a demand that the team trade Bryant.

“I won’t coach this team next year if he is still here,” Jackson told Kupchak, according to his book. “He won’t listen to anyone. I’ve had it with this kid.”

But Jackson also wrote he wished the best for Bryant and sympathized with the constant scrutiny Bryant has faced.

“Amazingly, we came to a truce, even to a higher level of trust,” Jackson said. “Ultimately, though, I don’t believe we developed enough trust between us to win a championship.”

The Lakers reached the NBA Finals last season, but lost to Detroit in five games.

Bryant responded coolly to Jackson’s criticisms, saying publicly he would rather tackle the voluminous “The Lord of the Rings” in a single sitting than read Jackson’s book. Privately, Bryant was said to be stung deeply by the assessments of his former coach, although he is open to Jackson’s return.

“If that’s something they want to roll with, I’ll roll with it,” Bryant said Wednesday.

Another complication with Jackson could be money. The last time he talked salary with the Lakers -- in February 2004 -- he sought a two-year, $25-million contract extension, far more than any coach in the league currently makes. The other marquee names suggested as possible candidates currently occupy high-profile positions of their own.

Brown is trying to coach the Pistons to a second consecutive championship. Riley becomes vested in as much as 20% ownership of the Heat if he stays until the end of this season, under terms of a contract he signed 10 years ago. Riley, who coached the Lakers from 1981-90, would have to sell his 20% stake if he were to return to the Lakers.

The Lakers play tonight at Staples Center against San Antonio before beginning a five-game trip Sunday in Houston, Tomjanovich’s previous home.

“Am I disappointed? Yeah,” Tomjanovich said about his departure. “Am I ashamed? No. My intentions were pure and I went after this thing with gusto. I just never shut it off.”