Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores announced Thursday night that Phil Jackson has agreed to serve in an advisory capacity during the team’s search for a coach.

But one source close to the situation told ESPN.com that Jackson’s willingness to counsel Gores and Pistons president Joe Dumars as they weigh candidates to replace the ousted Lawrence Frank is an unpaid consultancy stemming from Jackson’s friendship with Gores and “does not foreclose any options” with regard to the 11-time championship coach’s intentions to find a new full-time NBA management job.

Jackson’s arrangement with the Pistons, according to sources, is an “act of friendship.” Former New York Knicks and Utah Jazz executive Dave Checketts previously served as a Pistons adviser to Gores without officially joining team management.

The Pistons, in a story on the team’s website announcing Jackson’s willingness to help, described the move as an “advisory role” designed “not (for Jackson) to assume a formal position inside the Pistons’ organization.”

“Phil Jackson is a friend and one of the best minds in the business,” Gores said. “We are thrilled to have him as an adviser as we make some very important decisions for this franchise. Joe (Dumars) and I discussed this and he and I are in full agreement that this is a great opportunity.”  Via ESPN


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