ROMANCE & RISK LAKERS COACH, EXEC CAN HANDLE SCRUTINY: THEY'RE HAPPY.

Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer

EL SEGUNDO - This would be just another Hollywood love story if it didn't revolve around the sports team that fuels the city's passion.

This would be just another relationship between consenting adults, except one is the greatest NBA coach of his era, the other a successful sports executive, each of them a celebrity.

This would be just the average love story, except that the risks are greater, the potential conflicts run deeper and the very premise of it became tabloid fodder the moment it surfaced.

The employee dating the boss's daughter.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson dating Lakers executive vice president Jeanie Buss.

Nothing average about it. And that includes the reactions to it since the relationship became public knowledge last June.

``I really don't think it's that big of a deal,'' Jeanie Buss says, suppressing a laugh.

But that's not the way her relationship with Jackson has been interpreted since becoming public knowledge last June. It has spurred wild speculation: ``Jackson wants to become team owner by marrying Buss.''

And cheap shots: ``The Lakers are losing because Phil is distracted by Jeanie.''

And too many bad oneliners to count.

The relationship has even been cited, not without some basis, in Jerry West's decision to retire last summer.

``It was hard,'' Jackson acknowledged solemnly, ``for people in this organization. It wasn't easy for people. ... I let (general manager Mitch Kupchak) and Jerry know last year, when some eyebrows were raised. And I tried to be really honest and forthright. But it's when people come behind your back or things are said in public that it makes it difficult in a relationship.''

But after 18 months, Jackson and Buss are happy, comfortable and seemingly immune to the scrutiny. The Lakers are in the Finals again. The worst fears of critics have not been realized.

``Everything has gone really smooth,'' Buss said during a separate interview in her father's El Segundo office.

The two began dating in November 1999, a few months after Lakers owner Jerry Buss hired Jackson. They attended a Natalie Merchant concert together, and when their mutual attraction became clear, Jackson did what any well-mannered Midwesterner would do: He asked for her father's blessing.

The Lakers owner gave it without hesitation.

``I am very comfortable with the relationship,'' Jerry Buss said. ``I obviously have a high regard for Phil. But more than that, I trust Jeanie's judgment in these matters.''

Yet the potential for conflict and awkward feelings was clear from the very beginning. What if they broke up? What if there were bad feelings? Would someone have to resign? Could the franchise handle it all? This was certainly unusual territory, even for Jerry Buss, an unabashed playboy, and for Jeanie Buss (who once posed nude for Playboy).

``I dealt with this matter as a father, not as owner of the Lakers,'' Buss said. ``How Jeanie felt was the most important concern to me.''

So Jackson and Buss pursued their relationship and stayed off the public's radar for seven months. That changed during the Finals, with hundreds of reporters tracking the series against the Indiana Pacers. One day in Indianapolis, Jackson and Buss returned from a shopping trip and were ambushed by tabloid photographers at the team hotel.

``It was horrible,'' Buss said with a laugh.

Worse were the reports that followed.

Among the distortions - that Jackson had left his wife for Buss (Phil and June Jackson had a mutual split and filed for divorce before he came to L.A.); that the two were living together (they maintain separate residences, both in Playa del Rey); and that they were going to be married as soon as possible (they're not engaged and have no plans to be).

``We were going in different directions,'' Jackson said of his marriage, ``and my wife had actually encouraged me to move forward in my personal life.''

But later reports of dissonance in the Lakers offices were not entirely off the mark. West, the Lakers' longtime executive, was clearly bothered by the relationship - ``unnecessarily so,'' according to one person close to him.

``Jerry didn't approve,'' said the source.

The famously stressed West had been ready to walk away for years. The Buss-Jackson issue was only a minor factor, but a factor nonetheless, said those who know him. He could not be reached for comment.

West feared the worst if the relationship went sour. He said nothing directly to Jeanie Buss - who he's known for more than 20 years - or Jackson. But he spoke harshly of the relationship to confidants, including many in the local media. His criticism fueled much of the backlash.

``I didn't understand it,'' Buss said. ``That shouldn't have been anything to bother him. And we miss him very much being around, and I'm glad that he's been coming to the last couple games to enjoy the team he put together.''

The potential for daily conflict is minimal. Buss oversees marketing and business matters, an entirely separate operation from the basketball side. And she doesn't share West's fears, that a worst-case-scenario breakup could hurt the franchise.

``My feelings for (Jackson) are only good, and I've been married and divorced, and I've gone through the process of knowing that you can never make someone do what they don't want to do,'' Buss said.

Jackson and Buss see more reward than risk and continue their association, undaunted by the criticism.

``I have a sense of humor,'' Buss said. ``I don't do anything in my life based on how people will judge me. I have to be who I am.''

Which, right now, is a woman in love with the coach. That's not something she would have predicted.

``As a matter of fact, I was concerned when my dad said that he wanted to hire Phil Jackson,'' she said. ``I know that in Chicago he was very (opposed) to some of the ideas about marketing and that he feels the purity of the game is ruined by marketing people. And so I was completely against my dad hiring him. I was completely taken by surprise that he would be someone who's a lot different than my perception of him. And the motorcycle riding, the famous stories about him and his drug experience from his book in the '70s. I thought, 'Is he just like one freaky dude?' And he's not.

``Believe me, it took me by surprise, but we have a really wonderful time.''

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) The relationship of Phil Jackson and Jeanie Buss was sensational enough to make the Star newspaper. They've been subject to scrutiny because of their association but remain together - and happy.

(3 -- color) ``Believe me, it took me by surprise, but we have a really wonderful time.'' - Phil Jackson