EL SEGUNDO, Calif. - Phil Jackson might follow in his dad's footsteps.

Jackson recalled this week that his minister father used to move every five years because he believed his message got old.

''Eventually, your voice is going to wear out on them,'' Jackson said. ''When you see them develop a deaf ear and things change up, it might be time to move on.''

Jackson will complete the five-year, $30 million contract he signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals against the Detroit Pistons, where he'll attempt to win his 10th championship in 14 years as a head coach.

And then he might move on.

The Lakers broke off negotiations for a contract extension in February until after the season. While there are indications Jackson wants to continue coaching, he has been noncommittal as to his future and the Lakers also haven't commented.

''In my mind, it's definitely not his last year of coaching,'' Lakers assistant Kurt Rambis said Thursday. ''He might take a year off and come back like he did before.''

When asked if he thought Jackson will return to the Lakers, Rambis replied: ''I don't have a feeling for that, one way or another. I just get the feeling he still wants to coach.''

Jackson, 58, won three titles in his first four years in Los Angeles after getting six in nine years with the Bulls. He left Chicago after completing a second three-peat when the team was broken up in 1998 and took a year off before joining the Lakers.

That leaves Jackson with nine titles in 13 years - an incredible feat. One more would break a tie with former Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach and make Jackson the first coach or manager of a professional team to win 10 championships.

''He'll probably be either the greatest coach or one of the greatest coaches, according to me,'' Lakers star Shaquille O'Neal said regarding Jackson's status should the Lakers win the title. ''I don't know what Red Auerbach would say about that. I'd put him right up there.''

Jackson's postseason record of 174-65 is the best in NBA history, and his 832-316 regular-season mark is by far the best ever percentage-wise.

While Jackson has won nine titles, first-year Pistons coach Larry Brown hasn't won any in his 26-year career as a professional coach - four in the old ABA and 22 in the NBA.