Going Around In Circles

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Phil Jackson

In many basketball circles, the name of Phil Jackson is a revered one. As a head coach, Jackson has won 11 NBA Championships which is more than any other man that has strutted up and down the sidelines in a suit and loafers. In 2014, Jackson decided to make the move to the front office as he became the president of the New York Knicks. Jackson’s name alone gave the Knicks fan base hope as this is an organization that is still searching for their first NBA Title since 1973, as Jackson was a member of that team. But Jackson was brutally honest with the media and fans in New York City from his first day on the job as he proclaimed that a Knicks turnaround wouldn’t come overnight. And that has been the case for the Knicks as they are 52-105 since Jackson took over.

Jackson is known for his renowned “triangle offense” that led to his 11 NBA Championships. But when Jackson was hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy, he did it with some of the best NBA players ever as he had Michael Jordan leading the way to six titles for the Chicago Bulls while having Shaquille O’Neal for three titles, and Kobe Bryant for all five of his championships that he won with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Knicks do have a superstar player in small forward Carmelo Anthony, but Jackson’s time in New York is a clear indication that the triangle offense isn’t for everyone.

Jackson’s first major move was to hire a head coach that was familiar with his triangle offense as he hired Derek Fisher. Fisher spent 18 years in the NBA as a player which included 13 seasons with the Lakers where he was a member of all five of their title teams under Jackson. Jackson hired Fisher in spite of the fact that he didn’t have any previous experience as a head coach or as an assistant in NBA.

Derek Fisher

Fisher wasn’t given the most talented team to work with and in 136 games with the Knicks, his record was 40-96. But what ultimately did Fisher in was his immaturity. Last off-season Fisher found himself in the middle of an altercation with Memphis Grizzlies small forward Matt Barnes. Fisher began seeing Barnes’ ex-wife which didn’t go over well with Barnes as the two were former teammates with the Lakers while Barnes also saw him as a friend. Barnes would confront Fisher over the matter, but he wasn’t ready for the backlash that he would face from Barnes which led to him calling the police. Barnes would eventually be suspended by the NBA for two games over the incident, but Fisher’s actions had players in the Knicks locker room beginning to look at him differently. Fisher also drew the ire as he missed practice on several occasions as he was flying back from California from visiting the former Mrs. Matt Barnes. It was also reported that Fisher was involved with a woman that previously had dealings with former Knicks and current Atlanta Hawks guard Tim Hardaway Jr., as it was becoming evident that you don’t want to leave your woman around Fisher. But what ultimately did Fisher in was his mouth.

After only going 17-65 last season, the only way for the Knicks to go was up. The Knicks began this NBA season with a record of 22-22 and they found themselves right in the hunt for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks fan base was feeding off of this as they were coming out to support this team as they appeared to have a chance. But Fisher publicly made comments professing that making the playoffs this year wasn’t important for the Knicks and it was more important about the process. And if Fisher’s antics of playing Casanova hadn’t made him lose the Knicks locker room, those comments sealed it as New York would lose nine of their next ten games as he became a back page headline in the Big Apple. Fisher’s immaturity and lack of self-control left Jackson with no choice to fire the once promising head coach that he had previously hoped to groom.

Jackson would replace Fisher with another disciple of the triangle offense in Kurt Rambis who has won NBA Championships with the Lakers organization as both a player and as an assistant coach. Under Rambis, the Knicks are 2-4 and it is clear that he will not be the Knicks head coach going forward as he is just there on an interim basis.

There are former NBA head coaches such as Tom Thibodeau and Mark Jackson that would make sense for the Knicks to go after, but that won’t be the case as long as Jackson is running the team due to the fact that he wants someone that will run his triangle offense. Current Golden State Warriors assistant coach Luke Walton will be someone that Jackson will go after this off-season as he is another disciple of the triangle offense. And after the Warriors hot start this season under Walton while head coach Steve Kerr recovered from back surgery, Walton will be a hot commodity over the summer which means that the Knicks will have competition to obtain his services.

Jackson was able to strike it rich last summer at the NBA Draft when he used the fourth overall pick on power forward Kristaps Porzingis who is in the running to be the NBA’s Rookie of the Year as he is averaging 14.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per contest. Porzingis is a native of Latvia and his perimeter game along with his passing ability make him ideal for Jackson’s triangle offense. But the Knicks need more than just Porzingis to make them a contender and they’ve missed opportunities to part with Anthony in order to get value for him.

Carmelo Anthony

Anthony is one of the best scorers of this current NBA era, but at the age of 31, with a bad knee, the Knicks could have allowed him to leave in 2014 when he opted out of his deal to become an unrestricted free agent. Instead Jackson gave Anthony a full no-trade clause as a part of his five-year deal for $124 million. And the reality for the Knicks and Jackson is that Anthony’s knee is not going to get better and soon his yearly salary which is north of $20 million is going to be dead money as Jackson sold him a bill of goods to remain in New York City.

The Knicks appear to on their way to missing the playoffs for the third consecutive year while they don’t have a first-round pick in the NBA Draft this June. The Knicks are hoping to strike it big in free agency with the likes of Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant and Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley scheduled to be available. But it isn’t that cut and dry for the Knicks due to the fact of Jackson’s stubborness as far as the triangle offense.

As good as the triangle can be for perimeter players such as Jordan, Bryant, and Scottie Pippen who flourished under Jackson, it can be difficult on a point guard who has never played in that kind of system. That was evident by the struggles that Hall of Fame point guard Gary Payton had in his one season of playing under Jackson with the Lakers which will more than likely not entice Conley or an All-Star caliber point guard to New York which is a position that the Knicks need an upgrade at.

Jackson has shot down rumors of him leaving the Knicks in order to join the Lakers front office. But like most people I don’t expect Jackson to be around for the long haul in New York. Sooner rather than later Jackson will realize that attempting to fix the Knicks is the equivalent to reshuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic as the iceberg that is team owner James Dolan will eventually appear out of nowhere and sink the hopes of the “Zen Master”. Porzingis is a talented player that could one day morph into an NBA MVP and make the Knicks a contender. However Jackson must realize that his triangle offense isn’t for everyone and he must accept that as his 11 NBA Titles are clouding his vision. Just like it was when Jackson came to Madison Square Garden two years ago, the Knicks are still a mess, and there still doesn’t appear to be a way for this organization to get themselves out of their 43-year rut.

Source: Basketball-reference.com

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By | 2016-02-28T08:39:50+00:00 February 28th, 2016|Categories: National Basketball Association|Tags: , , |0 Comments

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