Phil Jackson Should Join (And Eventually Save) The Knicks
By Paul Sondhi
Late last week, reports began surfacing that the New York Knicks were courting ex-Lakers’ head coach Phil Jackson to join the organization in some capacity. Increasingly, it is looking as if the Knickerbockers want Jackson to become a front office executive, perhaps their general manager. The 68-year-old is definitely more than qualified, but hasn’t held a position in the NBA since he “retired” from coaching after the 2010–11 season.
The Zen Master’s resume is virtually incomparable to any other in NBA history. Jackson coached Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls to six titles during the nineties, the Kobe and Shaq Lakers to three consecutive championships from 2000 to 2002, and the Kobe-Pau Gasol iteration of the Lakers to two more for a total of eleven rings as a coach. It would also be appropriate to note that Jackson played 10 of his 12 NBA seasons, mainly during the seventies, with the Knicks. During that time, Phil was a part of New York’s only two championship campaigns: 1970 and 1973; I should mention, though, that he was an average contributor at best.
But, ask any Knicks’ fan if they would be OK with average, given the current state of the team, and the answer would surely be yes. Considering the team is sitting on a 24–40 record, the Knicks could use any sort of championship pedigree influence they can get anywhere near the franchise. Even with their bleak future, designating Phil Jackson as a key decision-maker in the organization would be a game-changer. The question is, why would he want to join a franchise that is sinking fast?
The Knicks currently have the second-highest payroll in the NBA at about $87 million. The main story surrounding the club all season long has been whether or not forward Carmelo Anthony will resign this offseason (he is almost assured to decline his player option for next year). Over the past couple seasons Melo has slowly become one of the most polarizing players in the league. Critics are quick to point out his defensive shortcomings, although he can be a decent defender when he tries (which doesn’t happen often enough), while supporters will regurgitate scoring statistics to defend him.
The fact of the matter is, both sides are right. With that being said, it is hard to refer to ‘Melo as a “superstar”; basketball is played on both ends of the court. Caring about defense is what separates the greats from the very, very good. But even if he’s only very, very good, he’s all the Knicks have. If he leaves the bright lights of New York for another city, such as Chicago, then the Knicks will be left with a terrible roster and no clear plan for the future.
I’ll go out on a limb and say that this doesn’t happen. Some will disagree, but I can’t envision Anthony leaving New York, where he is undeniably the current franchise player, during the prime of his career; there’s too much in terms of brand to leave on the table. If Anthony resigns (again that is admittedly a massive if), then the Knicks’ may still have hope. They have no valuable draft picks for a long time because of various trades in the past few years, but the collective dead weight of Amar’e Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler and Andrea Bargnani, who all have contract over $12 million, all come off the books after next season.
And that’s why Phil should join the Knicks. As crappy as this season has been, as crappy as next will be (sorry, Knicks fans), the promise of the NBA’s free agent Class of 2015 is extremely enticing: Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge, Rajon Rondo, and Marc Gasol will all be on the market. Sure, the Knicks will be competing with the likes of the Lakers and other franchises for the services of the top available players, but, the Knicks will at least be able to make a decent pitch. If they have Anthony under contract and Jackson calling the shots, not to mention the whole New York City thing, they’ll have enough to at least make all of the best players think long and hard about donning an orange jersey; someone will have to choose the Knicks, even if it’s just to continue the hopeless ‘I can be that star who succeeds in New York’ trend.
Think back to what plagued the Knicks during their pursuit of the Class of 2010 free agents: poor front office reputation (Isiah Thomas!) and no discernible talent on the roster. With Anthony and Jackson, the Knicks will have filled those gaps. Who knows? If New York brings on better player we may see Melo try harder on defense.
Or if that elaborate plan fails, James Dolan could sell the franchise. Then things would really be looking better.
