Lakers owner Jerry Buss declined to provide a definitive timetable on hiring a replacement for Phil Jackson as the Lakers coach, but he said the organization is "very close" to finalizing its search.

"I don’t know exactly when but a week is a long time," Buss said in a wide-ranging interview Tuesday with Playboy Radio's Michael Eaves and Bonnie Jill Laflin on Sirius/XM Radio. "I should say that."

Buss and executives Jim Buss and Mitch Kupchak met last Tuesday to draw up an official list, butThe Times' Mike Bresnahan and Broderick Turner have reported it's possible interviews with candidates might not happen until the first week of June. The possibilities, Bresnahan and Turner and other media outlets have reported, include Rick Adelman, Mike Dunleavy, Brian Shaw,Chuck Person and Mike Brown.

Meanwhile, players including Kobe Bryant, Derek Fisher and Luke Walton have publicly advocated for Shaw to get the position, arguing his familiarity with the personnel as a Lakers assistant coach and willingness to directly and constructively criticize players will help ease the transition period in the post-Jackson era.