Phil Jackson is widely regarded as one of the best coaches in NBA history. Unless things change for him in a hurry, his time as an executive will not be remembered the same way.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on “Mike & Mike” Thursday that fellow executives around the league do not think very highly of the job Jackson has done as president of the New York Knicks.
“They think he’s out of his mind.”
– NBA Executives to our Brian Windhorst on Phil Jackson pic.twitter.com/4AxzxEYuU9
— Mike & Mike (@MikeAndMike) February 9, 2017
Jackson, who was hired by the Knicks in March 2014, has two years and $24 million remaining on his contract. As Windhorst explained, there’s a two-way clause in the deal that allows either side to opt out. But if Jackson chooses to leave, where will he go?
“Phil has ruined his chance to get another job with the Lakers because his relationship with Jeanie Buss ended. That’s the job he really wanted,” Windhorst said. “Whatever happened with him and Jeanie and the end of their relationship, the Lakers are ready to make a change. There’s going to be somebody new running them next year, and it’s not going to be Phil Jackson.
“As great of a coach as he was, Hall of Fame and all those rings, and you take your hat off and say the man was a genius and motivated players and got the best out of a couple of the greatest players of all time, his (failures) of running teams is now heading toward legendary status.”
Jackson has been determined to get Carmelo Anthony to accept a trade, and you could argue the way he has gone about it is unprofessional. Bashing your team’s best player in public is a bad look, and one report claims Jackson’s handling of Carmelo could end up costing the Knicks in free agency.
The Knicks have won 22 games this season and look all but certain to miss the playoffs for a fourth consecutive year. Jackson was supposed to turn things around by now, and he appears as far from doing that as ever.
