For comparing the molecular cluster model with the phonon model in describing the Jahn-Teller interaction for magnetic impurities in crystals, the Jahn-Teller energy and the Ham reduction factors are expressed in terms of the phonon Green's function of the host crystal for an orbital triplet coupled to E g modes of vibrations. Numerical results for the case of MgO lattice have been obtained using the phonon Green's function derived from the breathing shell model.