Scottie Pippen says he's a fan of Luke Walton -- but tells TMZ Sports, if his old pal, Phil Jackson, was coaching the Lakers, they'd be well on their way to an NBA title already.
Look, this definitely ain't an aggressive shot at Luke -- but, Pippen kept it 100 telling us, "That's all he [Phil Jackson] do is win."
Scottie was braving the frozen tundra of Bev Hills (it was 58 degrees) on Monday when we asked about the situation with the Lakers ... currently in 10th place in the Western Conference.
Pippen told us he'd love to see 73-year-old Phil come out of retirement for another crack at a Larry O'Brien Trophy ... and he's confident LeBron, Lonzo and Kuzma could get the job done.
Scottie won 6 NBA rings under Jackson during his run with the Chicago Bulls. Phil went on to win 5 more with the L.A. Lakers.
Of course, there are reports of turmoil in Laker Nation -- with members of LeBron's camp allegedly pushing for Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka to replace Luke ASAP.
We spoke with Luke on Sunday -- and he denied friction with LeBron, telling TMZ Sports, "LeBron and I get along just fine."
So, what happens now? Luke says he's confident he can right the ship and lead the Lakers to the playoffs.
Question is ... will he get the chance?