Phil Jackson: Knicks have had to ‘eat some dung’ to build up franchise
New York Knicks president Phil Jackson acknowledged that the team has had a bit of a slog to get to the point now where they are being viewed as potentially competitive.
The Knicks are 49-115 since Jackson took over as team president, and he admits that they had to take their lumps to get where they are now.
“Fiscally, I’ve been very responsible as a president,” Jackson said, via Al Iannazzone of Newsday. “I don’t think I’ve had an opportunity to do a lot with the personnel but we’ve been successful in getting it to a position where we can operate as a basketball team. That’s been our first goal. And to eat some dung in the process, we had to do that and live with it.
“I don’t know about assessment from one year to the next. I guess the proof is in the pudding, and we hope that this team is going to prove that they’re capable.”
With the additions of Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah to go along with the likes of Kristaps Porzingis and Carmelo Anthony, Jackson is optimistic that this will be a much better season for the team.
“There’s been a lot of anticipation about this season,” Jackson said. “There’s an excitement about it.”
Admittedly, some of that dung was partially Jackson’s doing. He’s right, though, that it’s been a rough few years for the New York Knicks. If he doesn’t get this rebuild right, he likely won’t get the chance to conduct another one.
