Phil Jackson
With the New York Knicks on the verge of finishing their worst season in franchise history, the pressure will be on team president Phil Jackson to get things turned around and in a hurry. The Knicks have the second worst record in the NBA this season as they are one game ahead of the Minnesota Timberwolves for the worst record in the league. But the Knicks are hopeful for a quick turnaround. Heading into the NBA’s Draft Lottery later this spring, the odds are in the favor of the Knicks to land one of the top picks for the NBA Draft this summer. And with the Knicks only having $35 million committed to player’s salaries for next season, Jackson is hopeful that his plan to quickly turn the team around will come to fruition.
Not to mince words, but Jackson has basically “tanked” this season as part of his “vision” to bring a championship caliber team to Madison Square Garden. The fans and media alike in New York City have basically given Jackson a “pass” this season and the only reason for that has been his previous track record. Jackson won a pair of NBA Championships with the Knicks in the early 1970’s as a player and he would go on to win 11 league titles as a head coach with the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers. But more than most big cities, New York City is a “what have you done for us lately” place and they want to see results.
Carmelo Anthony
Jackson is backing on Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony returning to All-Star form after missing half of this season due to knee surgery. Jackson also believes that playing under his system will lure superstar free agents to put on the blue and orange while also potentially hitting it big at the NBA Draft. But is Jackson being smart or is he merely rolling the dice at an unwinnable crap table?
The draft is a long shot for the Knicks to improve their roster as they have not drafted a productive first round player since Mark Jackson in 1987 and they haven’t drafted a player that turned into a superstar since they “lucked” out and “won” the NBA’s initial draft lottery in 1985 when they selected Patrick Ewing. Jackson has already developed an affinity on Ohio State Buckeyes freshman point guard D’Angelo Russell as he wants him to run his triangle offense. Jackson’s praise of Russell has already put him in hot water with the NBA as he made some comments about the underclassman before he declared for the NBA Draft which is a violation of team rules. But whomever the Knicks draft in June will have unrealistic expectations and pressure placed on them whenever they arrive at Madison Square Garden.
Jackson is also looking to hit it big in free agency as he feels that his track record will make players want to sign with the Knicks. But Jackson’s track record of winning was done from the sidelines and not the front office. Like the Knicks haven’t drafted an impact player in a very long time, Jackson has never developed a star player as he was always handed teams that just needed to get over the hump in order to win a championship. But for Jackson to get a superstar player to come to the Knicks, it won’t be easy as under the NBA’s current collective bargaining agreement as a player’s current team can offer him more money than a potential new suitor. On top of that, Anthony has averaged 19.7 shots per game during his 12-year NBA career and he tends to make it difficult for other star players to play with him as he constantly demands the basketball. Jackson doesn’t envision the majority of the Knicks current team to be around when next season rolls around. But current Knicks head coach Derek Fisher hasn’t exactly done a tremendous job this season to build a winning reputation around the NBA in his first year on the job. Jackson might be able to sign a star player this off-season, but just like the NBA Draft, will the player or players be up for the challenge and pressure of playing in New York City?
The Knicks haven’t won the NBA Championship since 1973 and the more that the title drought increases, is the more that their fan base becomes anry which means that any new player will really be dealing with unrealistic expectations.
Jackson and the Knicks can be optimisitc as they are ready to embark on the off-season. The Milwaukee Bucks only won 15 games last season and they have so far increased their win total from a year ago by 26 games under new head coach Jason Kidd. The Bucks have also gone on to clinch a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. As of right now the Eastern Conference is still weak and Jackson is backing on the fact that it won’t take that much for the Knicks to get back into contention there. If the majority of the folks are willing to give Jackson a pass for this season, then they should do the same for Fisher. Fisher has looked lost at times on the Knicks sideline in his first year, but Jackson didn’t go all out to give him a good team to work with either. But if the Knicks don’t take care of business and upgrade their team over the summer, all of Jackson’s past accolades won’t mean a thing as he’ll be looked at in New York as just another guy who was willing to take the money of team owner James Dolan.
Source: Basketball-reference.com
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