Phil Jackson is arguably the best coach of all-time, so most teams would jump at the ability to have him as their head coach. That’s not the case with the New York Knicks.
Jackson has been GM of the Knicks for several seasons and they’ve seen little improvement. They have one playoff series victory despite spending big money, and assets, on Carmelo Anthony.
Drafting Kristaps Porzingis seems like the best move of the Phil Jackson regime; too bad he doesn’t have another 1st round pick until 2019.
Then there was the fact that head coach Derek Fisher was fired mid-season for focusing more on stealing girlfriends than teaching the triangle. The interim head coach Kurt Rambis hasn’t fared much better.
Yet, Phil Jackson constantly preaches his triangle, to the point that he may come down to coach the Knicks for home games next season to ensure its presence in New York.
“There’s even talk Jackson could offer to coach home games next season, with Rambis coaching the road games,” Shelburne reported Monday. “It’s an offer the late Lakers owner Jerry Buss once flatly rejected, but it could be an interesting compromise to hiring Rambis as the head coach next season.”
This would mean Rambis would remain head coach in name alone and a puppet for Jackson on the road.
Smart franchises would recognise this as a horrible idea. Jackson has had few triumphs as a GM and elite level coaches need elite level talent to succeed.
With young coaches such as Luke Walton and Kevin Ollie on the radar, why would the Knicks vie for a stop-gap in the coaching department?
That’s just bad general management.