Lakers head coach Phil Jackson explained to reporters prior to Wednesday's game in Atlanta that Sasha Vujacic did not play in Houston or New Orleans because of a "little run-in with the coaching staff in Oklahoma City."

Jackson added, "Sasha hasn't atoned for it yet, and when he does, he'll be back in good graces."

Vujacic responded by repeatedly saying, "I do not know what he is talking about."

Jackson also told reporters that Vujacic has failed in coming through on a promise that he made back in October.
 
"There's a promise that he made to us before the season that he hasn't fulfilled," Jackson said.  "I'll let him explain it, if he wants to."

When asked to explain Vujacic said, "I dont know.  Ask him.  I don't know what he's talking about."

It was clear, however, that Vujacic was visibly upset about his lack of playing time.

"I'm out of the rotation," he said.  "When they're winning, I'm not playing.  When they're losing, I'm not playing.  When the team is down by 20, I might get three minutes."

LeBron James has agreed to a new deal with Nike and the contract won't have bonus clauses that could trigger if he plays in a specific city, according to a report from the Plain Dealer.

There has frequently been speculation about LeBron's contract, as well as others, that there could be added money from Nike if a player is in a big market such as New York or Los Angeles.

The Lakers have no timetable for the return of center Andrew Bynum, who missed his fifth straight game on Monday.

Bynum strained his left Achilles tendon against the Timberwolves on March 19.

"I haven't put any timetable on Andrew at all," coach Phil Jackson said. "We were hoping it would be a couple of weeks, but right now we'll just let that one go. When he's ready to go, we'll notify you. He just started walking without discomfort about two days ago. He feels free enough to walk without the boot on."

Bynum had hoped to return this coming Sunday at home against the Spurs. He will get an MRI and be re-evaluated by doctors on Thursday.

Sources familiar with Donnie Walsh's thinking say the Knicks' president would hesitate to sign Chris Bosh to a maximum-salary contract, preferring to retain David Lee under a smaller deal.

Joe Johnson is presumed to be the Knicks' back-up plan if LeBron James stays in Cleveland.  But Kobe Bryant may still choose to jump in this summer's free-agent pool and some believe New York is the only destination Bryant would move to if he leaves Los Angeles.

"Don?t rule him out if LeBron says no to New York," one NBA GM said.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson says that he hasn't yet made a decision about his future.

Reports surfaced a few days ago that Jackson intended to coach the Lakers next season.

"No decision and no leaning at all. I'm leaning against the wall and that's about it," said Jackson leaning against a brick wall at the Ford Center on Friday.

Jackson said he didn't foresee health or financial concerns that would prevent him from coming back, but added his return could hinge on how the Lakers perform in the playoffs.

"Yeah. If we win it's almost imperative to give it another shot but there are a lot of ifs in there," the coach said.

"Winning is a really big if. There are four playoffs you have to get through before you can say that we won and we have a chance to do something special and unique again. That's a long shot."

Phil Jackson hopes to return next season as Lakers coach and does not anticipate that his return will be sidetracked by health issues or negotiations on a new lucrative contract, he told NBA.com Friday.

Jackson stopped short of saying an extension to remain in Los Angeles is a certainty, wanting to keep open his options until he talks with doctors after the season. And he conceded there is a lure to retiring. But the most-decorated coach in NBA history, with a record 10 championships, is clearly feeling better than a year ago and has been in good spirits all season.

Asked if he thinks he will be back with a new deal in 2010-11, Jackson said without hesitation: "Yeah."

"The wear and tear of a season, I think, affects everybody, the travel and whatever else you have to do for an extended time," he said at the Ford Center after a Lakers shootaround in preparation for the game against the Thunder later Friday. "But, all that being said, I'm as mobile as I've ever been in the last three years. That helps. I'm dealing with less arthritic elements that are painful things going on as you age. But there are still considerations as to the duration that I will coach, simply because I have to stay attuned to that.

"I look at something that happened like George Karl [the Nuggets coach who has been spending time away from the team while undergoing cancer treatment] and I just think it's a shame. You can't predict or project that as a possible situation, but he's going to miss part of the season and it's going to affect his team. I wouldn't want to put a franchise in that position when there's young healthy guys that can do the job."

Lakers forward Luke Walton is practicing with the team in hopes that he'll be able to return in early April.

He has missed the team's last 16 games with lower back problems.

"I'm definitely going to go. Hopefully physically my back stays strong enough and doesn't regress to where it was before," Walton said Tuesday as the Lakers prepared for a five-game road trip.

In November he underwent surgery to relieve pain caused by a pinched nerve and missed 28 games.

Lakers owner Jerry Buss says that the team will discuss the future of coach Phil Jackson after the season.

While a majority of the team's core players are under contract for the foreseeable future, Jackson is coaching under the final year of his deal.

"If I were to go to him right now and said, 'Phil, will you coach next year?' He would say let's wait until the end of the year and see how I feel," Buss told ESPNLosAngeles.com.

"So, I don't think it causes any tension, I just have to wait until then before a discussion begins [on a new contract]."

Jackson usually takes time away from Los Angeles and assesses his health at the end of each season.

"I think from [the Lakers'] perspective we really want to get through the year, then take a deep breath and see where we are," Buss added.

Lakers center Andrew Bynum will miss at least six games with a strained left Achilles tendon.

Bynum saw a foot specialist on Saturday and an MRI confirmed the injury. There is no tear of the tendon and he'll be re-evaluated in a week.

"These are the type of things that look like they're going to take some time," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "We're just hoping that the time is not extended."

According to Jackson, Bynum couldn't walk on the foot without a boot when he woke up Saturday morning.

"I just have a lot of pain in that area," Bynum said. "I'll be re-evaluated in a week. There's really not too much to say until that really calms down."

He suffered the injury during the team's 104-96 win over the Timberwolves on Friday night.

Andrew Bynum left Friday's game because of a strained left Achilles' tendon and will be out indefinitely.

Bynum was running downcourt on defense, felt a brief pop and promptly checked out of the game before walking back to the locker room with 10:09 left in the third quarter. He stopped in the hallway because of the pain and slowly continued to the trainer's room.

He wore a plastic walking boot as he left Staples Center and said he would have an MRI exam Saturday.

"I was just running and felt a lot of pain in my calf and down from there," Bynum said as he walked with a limp. "It's calmed down a little bit now. It was just really sharp, really quick. One or two seconds of super sharp pain."