I trust you and your unlcle's interpretation but it's like one of those ambiguous moments of a script. Especially considering that it was before D'Antoni news and the only clear and vacant head coach position to be the subject was of the Jazz, I believe there is a great chance that he was talking about the Jazz.
Still, I'm confused now after Johnny's translation, Core4's comments and your uncle's interpretation.
I agree it is unclear.
It's kind of like that old Groucho Marx joke: [SIZE=+3]
[SIZE=-1]"The other day, I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I'll never know."
[/SIZE][/SIZE]
We really don't know whether his remark about coaching was intended to be the modifier for the Jazz or the Lakers.
My translation is as follows:
Future to the Jazz? Rumors, of course. To me, I liked the experience with the Lakers. I do not know if I will be given the opportunity to be a head coach. It's not something I can control. But if they asked me, I'd love to.
Whilst I agree that WITHOUT a prior reference to the Jazz, the latter phrase would DEFINITELY modify "Lakers," it becomes unclear when considering that he was specifically asked about the Jazz. As part of his answer, he says he had a good experience with Los Angeles. The next sentence he states he doesn't know if he'll get the chance to be a head coach, but if "they" asked him, he'd love to.
No one talks with "commas;" you pause and it could also be a period. So punctuation that a writer inserted is irrelevant. It's unclear whether "they" refers to Utah in answering the original question, or whether he's referring to Los Angeles. Again, though, D'Antoni was STILL the head coach at the time of the interview so it would be very unusual and very unprofessional, IMO, if he was really saying he'd like to have a job that was not yet available.
The fact the Messina would love to coach in the NBA is a good sign. Lindsey could hang around Europe for another 2 weeks and ask him first, while the rumors float around about LA going after others. Worst that could happen is Messina calls Buss and Kupchak and tells them he has an offer in hand from Utah and would they like to match it?