Keeping Up With the Jacksons

When Steve Kerr left Phil Jackson at the alter Wednesday in favor of the California sun and Stephen Curry’s silky smooth jump shot, the Knicks were left scrambling to find a new list of candidates. Kerr was Jackson’s number one choice and was as good as signed earlier in the week before Golden State full court pressed Kerr, offering him the fifth year the Knicks were not rightfully willing to go. Now what? Now Phil Jackson has to do what Donnie Walsh did in 2010 when the Knicks swung and missed on LeBron James, find someone and find them fast.

It has been reported that Jackson wants someone he has a prior relationship with. Some one that knows the triangle offense, former players and associates such as Derek Fisher, Tyronn Lue, and Kurt Rambis have been mentioned.  Who hasn’t been mentioned is former Knick also named Jackson. Mark Jackson. As Golden State’s head coach Jackson won 51 games and took the Clippers to a game seven with no center.

In addition to turning Golden State around, who better to bring back classic New York basketball than a fellow New Yorker? Jackson can invigorate a franchise that has been sleep-walking since Jeff Van Gundy fled MSG for Houston. 

In just three years Jackson had the Warriors near the top of the league in defense and helped turn Klay Thompson into a two-way player. Imagine what he can do with a Shumpert-Hardaway duo. Not to mention the biggest reason of them all, Carmelo Anthony, the guy Dolan gutted the roster for, has said he would like to play for him. Anthony has been mum on all other candidates, not to mention.

Anthony is not the only player that holds Jackson in high esteem. Curry, Jackson’s former star player made it clear that he loved playing for Jackson and learned a lot. LeBron James, another player the Knicks hope to target in 2014 was seen embracing Jackson before Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Jackson is a player’s guy which in a league where the players hold the most leverage than in any other is a huge advantage.

Phil reportedly wants “one of his guys” with current Oklahoma City guard Derek Fisher emerging as the leading candidate in the wake of Kerr’s decision to stay in California. He coached Fisher with the Lakers, winning five championships and there is no question that Fisher is sharp and you can make way worse hires than him (Mike D’Antoni anyone?). However if Jackson plans on turning the Knicks around sooner rather than later how can he not tap a coach that your free agent superstar would want to play for and someone that players have such high respect for? Jackson did agree to a multiyear deal to rejoin Mike Breen and Jeff Van Gundy as a part of ESPN's lead NBA announcing team, according to the Associated Press, but that deal does not stop him from accepting a head coaching position per Frank Isola of the Daily News.

Is the triangle offense that hard to grasp? Can Phil not teach Jackson the offense, have Anthony re-sign and get ready to make a push for LeBron, K-Love or Rondo in 2014? All the stars seem aligned for this to happen, the Brooklyn guy who played for St. Johns, was drafted by the Knicks, comes back home to turn the franchise around. The Fisher hire will show fans that the team is in full blown rebuild mode, the Jackson hire will show the team is turning things around as soon as possible. The ball is in your court Zen Master, show New York what you got. 

The Zen Era

If you told me in January that Phil Jackson would be the Knicks' President of Basketball Operations I would ask "what was in that beer". If you told me James Dolan vowed to cede power to Jackson I would tell you to check into Alcoholics Anonymous. Yet here we are in the middle of March with one of the best basketball minds in the world calling Madison Square Garden his new home. 

Everyone knows Jackson’s credentials by now (if you don’t leave ESPN on for five or ten minutes), Jackson is getting paid a king’s ransom of $60 million to leave the beautiful Cali weather and his fiancée Jeanie Buss behind. What we don’t know is how quickly Jackson can undo almost two decade’s worth of mistakes by a meddling owner who said at Jackson’s press conference “I am by no means an expert in basketball.”

We know Dolan, believe me we know. However, to Dolan’s credit, he took a huge step in the right direction yesterday. He listened to his loyal fan base and confidants and made a move that has franchise altering potential. Was this his way of stopping the embarrassment of the fan protest outside of the Garden Wednesday night? Maybe. Was this a way to say sorry for the Andrea Bargnani deal? I hope so. Is there anyone better to turn around this organization? Maybe, but they’re already employed by other teams.

Jackson brings a firm identity with him, something the Knicks have been looking for since Jeff Van Gundy fled to Houston, an identity not just for the basketball team, but for the whole organization. If this man got Kobe Bryant to share the basketball imagine what he can do to not only the neighborhood ball hogs that fill out the Knicks’ roster, but the power hungry hogs that fill out the Garden executive board.

He brings the basketball expertise that the Knicks lost when Donnie Walsh was sent packing. Naysayers say that Jackson is an exceptional coach, but unproven as a front office executive. That is why they are called naysayers. The hiring of Jackson is already the best move the team has made since they were eliminated by the Indiana Pacers last April.

But what does this really mean? Who’s in and who’s out? Time will answer those questions. Jackson told the media yesterday that he plans on talking to the team before their big game against that Pacer team Wednesday. It will be interesting to see how the team comes out after a pep talk from one the best coaches ever.

Looking forward Jackson says he supports Mike Woodson, but it would be an all-time shocker if Woodson is on the bench for the Knicks come next season. Insiders have said that Jackson’s disciples, guys that know his triangle system will be the logical choices. TNT Analyst Steve Kerr who won three championships with Jackson in Chicago has been rumored to be the front-runner. Marc Stein of ESPN went as far as to say it is Kerr’s job to turn down. Other candidates include Brian Shaw who was supposed to succeed Jackson in LA. Shaw is already under contract as Denver head coach, but that won’t stop the Knicks from inquiring (see Thibodeau, Tom).

The long shot candidates are Jeff Van Gundy, someone that knows how to handle Dolan if Jackson ends up having less power than he thought and a cult hero in New York. Find a Knick fan who doesn't love JVG and I show you a Nets fan. The other is Woodson being retained. This is not completely out of the question. If the Knicks get into the playoffs and somehow win in the first round then the team would have to bring him back. It’s a long shot, but still a shot.

What Knicks fans care about most are what this means for Carmelo Anthony and his impending free agency. Will Anthony exercise his one-year option a la Dwight Howard to see what Jackson does with actual cap space flexibility and a first-round draft pick? Will he re-sign for a max contract and put his trust in Jackson to lure that second star in 2015? Anthony has given mixed signals first saying that Jackson’s arrival will have no effect on his free agency decision, but called the move a “power move” by the Knicks. Jackson is known as a culture changing connoisseur and he sure has his work cut out for him. If history serves as any measurement, the Zen Era will be a fruitful one for the Knicks.