Phil Jackson Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images

Knicks fans dreaming of Phil Jackson someday riding in on a white Harley to save their club might not want to get their hopes up just yet. Jackson told a Chicago audience Wednesday that his recent health issues would likely keep him on the sidelines for good.

"I feel very comfortable saying I more than likely will not come back and coach," said Jackson, who underwent an angioplasty and treatment for kidney stones in 2003 while coaching the Lakers. "The health issue is very important."

Jackson, the winningest coach in NBA history by percentage, was let go by the Lakers last summer after losing to the Pistons in the Finals. Since then he has called it a "retirement," though many expect the 59-year-old to coach again. Jackson himself fueled speculation Tuesday when he reportedly told the New York Post he'd consider coaching the Knicks someday if the job were ever to open up.

Jackson, in Chicago to promote his new book, The Last Season: A Team in Search of Its Soul, said he had no regrets about his departure from Los Angeles. He said he reached a point with the Lakers last season where he felt his message was no longer being heard.

"The longer you stay the harder it is to reach the ears and minds of young ballplayers," Jackson told the crowd of more than 400 at the city's downtown Union League Club. "I think I stayed maybe one year too long in Los Angeles, and as a consequence this book is the [result]."

Of the team's celebrated feuds, Jackson admitted there was conflict between stars Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, but said much of it was overblown. "I really didn't know how publicized the team was until the Finals, when I realized the angst or anxiety basketball fans felt about watching this Lakers team over the course of the year," he said. "The disputes and disharmony, it affected those fans and in fact I felt it affected the referees in the course of the playoffs. [But] we really didn't have that much. The reporters made a big deal out of it because it's Hollywood."

Whether trumped up or not, the Lakers soap opera apparently has made for good reading. Jackson reports sales have been brisk, and he autographed dozens of copies at Wednesday's event. But while many fans asked him if he would coach again, Jackson stuck to his line that he had no plans. As he was leaving the building, he was even asked if he might consider working for Michael Jordan should the former Bulls legend achieve his goal of owning an NBA team.

"I'd consider it," Jackson said with a smile. "But not coaching."

Marty Burns covers pro basketball for SI.com.