There have been reports coming from everywhere that the New York Knicks are pursing Phil Jackson and that he is either interested or not interested. Well according to Chris Broussard, it appears as if Phil will take the job.
All indications are that Phil Jackson will accept the New York Knicks’ offer to join the club’s front office, according to a league source.
“The Knicks have a sense of what’s going to happen,” the source said. “And as of right now, it looks like Phil’s taking the job. There’s always the possibility of something falling apart at the last minute, but the Knicks’ sense is that he’s joining them.” The sides are still working out the details, including what Jackson’s title will be, how much time he will spend in New York and when in the next few months he will start his job.
Jackson’s answer is expected to become official within the next day or so. The Knicks have not scheduled an announcement.
The longtime former coach will not be a mere consultant for the Knicks, as he was recently for the Detroit Pistons. Whatever his title, the source said, Jackson will be an integral part of the club’s basketball operations, although he will definitely not coach the team.
While Knicks owner James Dolan will pay Jackson handsomely to make basketball decisions, Dolan is still expected to maintain a voice in terms of decision-making, the source said. Bringing Jackson aboard could move the Knicks away from their ties to Creative Artists Agency, the player- and coach-representation firm that many league insiders, including some Knicks players, believe has an inordinate amount of influence within the franchise.
Assistant general manager Allan Houston, coach Mike Woodson, player personnel director Mark Warkentien and star forward Carmelo Anthony are all CAA clients.
One Knicks player recently told ESPN.com that the CAA ties were a problem in the locker room.
“You see how guys from CAA are treated differently,” the player said. “How they get away with saying certain things to coaches. How coaches talk to them differently than they talk to the other guys. It’s a problem.”
If the report is true that Phil is going to join the Knicks, I really don’t see how this impacts Carmelo Anthony’s free agency. Sure, the Knicks would be getting a great coach who has coached the likes of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Shaq, but he wouldn’t be coaching the actual team. He would just be somewhere in the front office.
Another thing is that whether or not Phil actually joins the team, the team isn’t going to change that much. Amare, Chandler, Felton (assuming he doesn’t go to jail), Shumpert whose been up and down this season, and J.R. Smith who is also inconsistent, are all going to be there. The Knicks don’t even have their first round pick because they gave it away in the deal to get Melo.
Why in the world would Melo stay for another year and struggle, when he could go to a team like the Chicago Bulls who will amnesty Carlos Boozer, will get Derrick Rose back, and actually have a great coach, and pieces that fit. Carmelo could go to the Lakers. The Lakers will be getting back an even hungrier and much more determined Kobe, and not to mention the possible first overall pick which could be Jabari Parker, Andrew Wiggins, or joel Embiid who some are comparing to Hakeem Olajuwon. I didn’t even mention the fact that the Lakers will have a ton of cap space to add pieces, and a brand new coach.
It’s a nice attempt by the Knicks to keep Melo, but in the end, who knows if it will work.
joshcolon 