Phil Jackson wasn't in the mood to stop and catch up. His New York Knicks had gotten out of Staples Center with a win over the Los Angeles Lakers and he'd gone an entire game without having to wave to nostalgic Laker fans on the big screen.
"I think the Lakers are trying to move away from that kind of stuff," Jackson said, as we spoke briefly outside the Knicks' locker room on Dec. 11.
There was such a distance in the way he said, "The Lakers." This, after all, is the man who won five NBA titles in Los Angeles and was still engaged to Lakers president Jeanie Buss.