Entertainment, Value Are Names of Game

Whether it’s Hollywood or Showtime, it comes down to star power.

Laker owner Jerry Buss is betting that Phil Jackson, Take Two, will do for his struggling NBA franchise what George Lucas or Steven Spielberg can do for Hollywood studios -- put bodies in seats, even if the plot is convoluted and the leading man’s star has lost some of its shine.

“Phil Jackson is a star, no doubt about it,” said Ron Riggio, director of the Kravis Leadership Institute at Claremont McKenna College. “When you’re talking entertainment, which is what sports is all about, celebrity clearly plays a part.”

It is particularly true in a busy city like Los Angeles, where the media shifts quickly and seamlessly from Michael Jackson’s courtroom thriller on Monday to Phil Jackson’s much-rumored return on Tuesday and more than 50 fans who pay $2,000 a ticket for courtside seats recently petitioned Buss to put Jackson back on the sidelines.

Jackson’s good fortune -- his three-year deal would make him the NBA’s highest-paid coach with an annual salary estimated at $10 million -- won’t necessarily push up coaching salaries when existing and anticipated NBA vacancies are filled in Minnesota, Portland and elsewhere. “It’s largely L.A. and Showtime,” said Andrew Zimbalist, a Smith College economics professor. “This is a special situation that will only play out in Los Angeles, New York and a couple of other markets.”

There are wild cards, including free-spending Dallas Maverick owner Mark Cuban, who is known to pay top dollar for whatever he wants, and former Laker coach Pat Riley, who is in line to earn an equity stake in the Miami Heat franchise as part of his compensation package. Sports industry observers, however, doubt that Jackson’s double-digit salary will ignite a salary war. One reason is that Jackson owns the best postseason record of any NBA coach in history; another is that Jackson is perhaps most valuable to the team where he registered his last three championships.

Jackson did move into rarefied air Tuesday. He will earn three times what the average NBA coach takes home and would rank about 40th among the NBA’s highest paid players. Buss shattered the previous record set when the Milwaukee Bucks paid George Karl $7 million a year.

To put those figures in context, Joe Torre, who earns about $6 million to lead the Yankees and take George Steinbrenner’s calls, is the highest-paid baseball manager; Dodger Manager Jim Tracy in November signed a two-year, $1.8-million extension.

NFL coaching salaries exploded in 2003 when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers gave the Oakland Raiders $8 million in cash and four draft picks to hire away Jon Gruden and sign him to a five-year, $17.5-million deal. Joe Gibbs subsequently was lured out of retirement with a five-year, $28.5-million package to revive the Washington Redskins.

Jackson’s salary also dwarfs what Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski -- who briefly was a candidate for the Laker job -- earns. Krzyzewski reportedly earns less than $2 million a year as a college coach, although he works in a world where a coach’s word usually is law, unlike the NBA, where coaches and highly paid athletes don’t always see eye-to-eye.

Coaches also are seeking creative ways to bolster their overall compensation. In Kentucky, Louisville’s Rick Pitino and Kentucky’s Tubby Smith both earn a little over $2 million a year -- but also enjoy such perks as free cars and ownership stakes in race horses. When Nick Saban was Louisiana State’s football coach, his contract guaranteed that he would always make at least $1 more than the second-highest paid coach. So if Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops had earned a raise by, say, beating LSU for the national title, Saban might have earned a raise by losing the big game.

Contracts, though, aren’t always a true indicator of what a coach will take away. Before hiring Gibbs, the Redskins handed Steve Spurrier a five-year, $25-million deal to leave Florida. Spurrier quit after two dismal years and is back in the college ranks earning an estimated $1.2 million at South Carolina in the Southeastern Conference.

Meanwhile, in soccer-mad Europe, Jose Mourinho recently stunned fans by signing a contract with Chelsea of the English Premier League that will pay him at least $11 million a year and even more if bonuses and other options are activated.

Jackson’s salary could feed labor unrest this summer because he’ll be earning more than twice what the average player makes ($4.9 million) at a time when the league is threatening to lock out players.

Still, Jackson’s price tag is relatively inexpensive compared to the cost of signing a star player like Shaquille O’Neal, who stands to earn $30 million next season. Buss would have to pay millions beyond O’Neal’s hefty salary to return the league’s dominant center to Staples Center. That’s because Buss would be subject to the “luxury tax” the NBA imposes when franchises exceed a salary cap designed to give small-market teams a chance to compete against franchises in bigger cities. “This way, Buss gets a coach who can help bring good players to town, help the team play better, and has the charisma needed to get fans into the building,” Zimbalist said.

Buss, Zimbalist said, is a “calculating businessman” who clearly expects to recoup his investment. Though the Lakers sold out many games this past season, Jackson’s return gives fans -- including the disgruntled fans in the front row -- reason to return next season as the Lakers struggle to rebuild. Zimbalist also suggested that Buss began reaping dividends even before Tuesday’s announcement by driving fan interest at a time when the rest of the league is focused on the NBA Finals.

Hiring Jackson only a year after dumping him could help Buss sate the demand for entertainment among jaded fans who want to see Showtime -- on and of the court. Whether it’s Kobe Bryant dunking, Jack Nicholson riding the referees or Jackson pacing the sideline, “L.A. is the entertainment capital of the world, which makes it a unique stage for sports,” said Paul Swangard, managing director of the University of Oregon’s Warsaw Sports Marketing Center.

Star power, though, will carry Jackson only so far. Jackson’s success will depend in large part on how he can deal with highly paid athletes with minds of their own. It’s the same challenge Hollywood directors face on sets when they’re trying to pull Oscar-winning performances from highly paid and often mercurial actors. Jackson’s job arguably got tougher when he wrote a tell-all book about his last season with Bryant and O’Neal, and when he recently described the Laker roster as unappealing, underachieving and salary-cap strapped.

Coaches need to win games -- and quickly -- when it comes to postseason play, or risk joining the parade of exiles in a league where the average tenure of head coaches is slightly longer than two seasons. On that score, Jackson will feel the same kind of pressure that comes to bear on top corporate executives.

“If the stock price doesn’t go up, the shareholders are irate and your days are numbered,” said John Challenger, chief executive of Chicago-based Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a Chicago-based outplacement firm.

Times staff writer Diane Pucin contributed to this report.

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Lakers get their Phil

At $10 million a year, Phil Jackson is now the highest-paid current NBA coach, but still makes less than three of his players and would not rank among the top 25 in NBA salaries.

Top NBA coach salaries

Coach, team and average annual salary (in millions)

Phil Jackson, Los Angeles Lakers: $10

Rick Adelman, Sacramento Kings+: $6

Jerry Sloan, Utah Jazz: $5.5

Larry Brown, Detroit Pistons: $5

Doc Rivers, Boston Celtics: $5

Jeff Van Gundy, Houston Rockets: $5

Rick Carlisle, Indiana Pacers: $4

Mike Fratello, Memphis Grizzlies: $4

Gregg Popovich, San Antonio Spurs: $4

+Estimated

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Phil Jackson will rank fourth in the 2005-06 annual salary among Laker players and coaches.

Top Laker salaries (in millions)

Kobe Bryant: $15.9

Brian Grant: $14.3

Lamar Odom: $11.4

Phil Jackson: $10

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Sources: NBA, hoopshype.com, Times sources

Los Angeles Times

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Top coaches

Phil Jackson is the top coach in NBA winning percentage and playoff victories (x-active):

REGULAR-SEASON WIN PCT.

Top regular-season winning percentages for NBA coaches (minimum 400 games):

*--* Coach Pct. W L Phil Jackson 725 832 316 Billy Cunningham 698 454 196 K.C. Jones 674 522 252 Red Auerbach 662 938 479 Pat Riley 661 1,110 569 Gregg Popovich-x 661 455 233

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MOST PLAYOFF VICTORIES

Most playoff victories for NBA coaches:

*--* Coach Pct. W L Phil Jackson 717 175 69 Pat Riley 608 155 100 Red Auerbach 589 99 69 Larry Brown-x 536 98 85 K.C. Jones 587 81 57

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BEST PLAYOFF WIN PCT.

Top playoff winning percentages for NBA coaches (minimum 100 games):

*--* Coach Pct. W L Phil Jackson 717 175 69 Billy Cunningham 629 66 39 Gregg Popovich-x 632 67 39 Pat Riley 608 155 100 Chuck Daly 595 75 51 Red Auerbach 589 99 69

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