Carmelo Anthony was asked Tuesday about the possibility of Phil Jackson coaching the New York Knicks on a part-time basis next season and said he was not in favor of such a plan.
“Phil ain’t coaching no more, man,” Anthony said Tuesday via the New York Post. “Let’s kill that rumor. Phil ain’t coaching no more.”
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne threw out the idea in a piece about Jackson published Monday night. She said there was talk of Phil potentially coaching the Knicks for home games next season and current interim coach Kurt Rambis doing away games.
“I don’t think that should be accepted, I wouldn’t accept that if that was the case,” Anthony said of the home/road split. “That would be tough to do. Phil’s cool. He doesn’t need to be on the sideline anymore. He put so many years into the game. He doesn’t need to be on the sideline. I don’t think he’s thinking about coming back on the sideline. I hope not.”
Anthony also seemingly gave a mild endorsement of Rambis, saying bringing him back would be “OK” but the team should interview other coaches.
Carmelo Anthony said OK with Kurt Rambis sticking but added "You still have to go out there and at least listen to other candidates."
— Marc Berman (@NYPost_Berman) March 15, 2016
Rambis also said he did not see Jackson coaching again just because of the mental and physical grind associated with the job.
Jackson is 70 years old and has not coached since 2011. He joined the Knicks as an executive nearly two years ago and has served as team president since.
