Category: New York Knicks Blog

Here’s the New York Daily News reporting on the Knicks and Phil Jackson, who should be joining forces soon:

Barring a last-minute change of heart, or short of Kobe Bryant holding Phil Jackson hostage in Los Angeles, the Knicks will officially have a new basketball savior next week.

Jackson’s deal with the Knicks is expected to be finalized within days and a press conference could be held at some point next week, just in time for James Dolan to upstage a fan protest that is scheduled to take place in front of Madison Square Garden on March 19. On Wednesday, both Kobe and Magic Johnson made public pleas to Lakers management to hire Jackson, but a Lakers source said that team VP, Jim Buss, has little interest in bringing back the Hall of Fame coach.

There was a report on Wednesday quoting unnamed sources that Bryant, who has been sidelined since mid-December, does not want to play for Mike D’Antoni anymore. The Lakers may placate Bryant by making a coaching change but are less inclined to even consider Jackson as a replacement.

A last-minute change of heart seems remote at this point — even though Jackson’s girlfriend, Jeanie Buss, is the Lakers president — and so it would appear that Jackson will be next in line to try to end the Knicks’ 41-year-old championship drought. Dolan, the Garden chairman, is offering Jackson a contract worth approximately $15 million annually, and it is still unclear whether Jackson will move to New York permanently or split his time between Manhattan and his beach house in Playa Del Rey.

Here’s ESPN New York sharing insight from George Karl, a man worth listening to on basketball in general and Carmelo Anthony in particular:

Few know Carmelo Anthony as well as George Karl does.

And Melo’s former coach wonders if Phil Jackson would keep Anthony if the Zen Master takes over the Knicks’ front office. ESPN Radio’s Colin Cowherd asked Karl if the Knicks keep Anthony while discussing Jackson potentially taking over the Knicks.

“To me, when you ask me that question, I don’t think Melo is a Phil Jackson type of player,” Karl said on “The Herd.” “That would be my answer to that.”

Karl, who coached Anthony from 2005-11, says Anthony is just one of many major decisions Jackson would have to make if he joins the Knicks. Cowherd asked Karl if Anthony and Kobe Bryant have similar traits as prolific scorers.

Here’s the New York Daily News with the latest on the Knicks and Phil Jackson:

Offering Phil Jackson the head coaching job with the Knicks may end up costing Steve Mills his job.

Mills’ meeting with Jackson two weeks ago was a “disaster,” according to a person with knowledge of the negotiations. Jackson rejected the chance to replace Mike Woodson on the bench and instead is considering a move into the front office after speaking with Garden chairman James Dolan.

“Phil doesn’t want to work with Steve,” said a person close to Jackson. “Mills doesn’t know what to think now. Dolan is calling the shots on this one.”

Mills would remain in the organization in some capacity if Jackson joins the Knicks but would not be expected to have an active role in the day-to-day operations.

Here’s New York Newsday exploring the future of Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks:

The Knicks hope to re-sign Carmelo Anthony this summer. But if he were to leave all that extra money on the table to go to the Bulls or another team, it could be a blessing in disguise for the Knicks, according to a former NBA general manager.

“I really think if Carmelo left them, he may be doing them a favor,” said the ex-GM, who has no ties to the Knicks. “They probably don’t see it that way. But in the long run, it’s probably doing them a favor.”

The logic is that it would give the Knicks a chance to rebuild. They’ll have a boatload of cap space in the summer of 2015 — when Amar’e Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler and Andrea Bargnani are scheduled to come off the books and Rajon Rondo, Kevin Love and LaMarcus Aldridge could hit the open market — and a first-round draft pick.

The likely result would be another lean season in 2014-15, but the source — who has rebuilt teams before — thinks it could turn around quickly. “New York is the greatest city in the world and the Garden is the best place to play basketball,” he said. “Guys want to go to play in New York. It’s going to hurt for a little bit. But if you have cap space, it’s not going to be that hard to get a good player to come to New York.”

Here’s the New York Daily News reporting on the Knicks, who if things go their way will eventually be led by the Zen Master, Phil Jackson:

When Phil Jackson is standing in front of a top-tier free agent, the Knicks want him to begin his recruiting pitch with an old Pat Riley trick; throw all of his rings on the table.

All 13, in fact.

An NBA source says that a big part of the Knicks’ thinking behind pursuing Jackson is to recruit free agents to New York, starting with re-signing Carmelo Anthony, who can opt out of his contract on July 1.

Nearly four years after the Knicks’ recruiting pitch to LeBron James came up woefully short, Garden chairman James Dolan is counting on Jackson to become the organization’s closer.

“Can’t talk about it,” Knicks president and GM Steve Mills, who hasn’t addressed the media since training camp, said as he walked past reporters before Saturday night’s game against the Cavaliers.

The Knicks are showing life lately. Here’s the New York Post reporting on the team taking their third win in a row:

The Knicks have found a starting lineup, found a way not to panic in the fourth quarter and have found their way back into the playoff race.

With Carmelo Anthony thriving in the new Big 3 alignment, he reversed his trend of stinking out Cleveland, shaking off a bad first quarter to post 26 points as the Knicks topped the Cavaliers, 107-97 at Quicken Loans Arena for their third straight win.

Amar’e Stoudemire scored 17 points with 12 rebounds and three blocks as the new starting power forward and Tyson Chandler notched 15 points and 11 rebounds. The expensive trio combined for six blocks.

Yeah, it’s working as the Knicks had a chance to move within 3 ½ games of the eighth seed with collapsing Atlanta playing a late game at the Clippers.

Here’s the New York Post reporting on the Knicks, who apparently want Phil Jackson involved with their squad in some capacity:

Phil Jackson has turned down the Knicks’ offer to coach the team, but he could soon return to the organization as a front-office executive.

The Knicks reached out to Jackson to discuss his future plans, according to multiple sources. Though they would prefer to have him coach the team and offered him the job, according to one source, the discussions evolved into Jackson joining the Knicks in some form of a hybrid front-office role.

The Post has learned Jackson needs another knee replacement — his second — which has ruled out a return to the bench for the former Bulls and Lakers coach.

A source close to Jackson said he undoubtedly will be a general manager or team consultant next season, but his coaching days are over. His talks with the Knicks are still ongoing but could be resolved next week.