James Dolan chose Phil Jackson to rebuild a losing culture in Madison Square Garden, but sadly in his three-year stint, he made the New York Knicks even worst. He did pick up an incredible Latvian center named Kristaps Porzingis, but besides that, the New York Knicks are going nowhere. Let's see what Jackson has done in his first ever front office job,
Phil Jackson was the wrong choice
New York fans were pretty excited when the Zen Master signed with the Knicks but that quickly changed after all the unfortunate moves he made. After just three seasons as president of the New York Knicks, owner James Dolan reportedly fired phil jackson.
After being entrusted to lead the rebuilding of the Knicks team, Jackson left the team with a record of 80-166 over his tenure in New York. Here are some notable moves made by Jackson that people believed why he was the wrong choice:
1. Jackson signed Joakim Noah to a 72 million dollar contract for four years. Joakim Noah was hampered by injuries and even when he got healthy he struggled to find his old self that fans remember from Chicago.
2. Jackson re-signed Carmelo Anthony to a five-year, $124 million contract, with a no-trade clause included. The money was the right amount but the no-trade clause seemed unnecessary at the time. This clause in the deal came back to haunt Jackson when he wanted to rid the Knicks of Anthony but Carmelo refused to waive the clause.
Phil Jackson then started to take public shots at Carmello, hoping to push him into waiving the no-trade clause. However, he failed to accomplish that goal and ended up alienating Carmelo Anthony.
These two moves, both made by Phil Jackson, had a big impact on the Knicks play as they continued to struggle moving forward. In his first front office job, it was pretty clear that Jackson was in over his head.
James Dolan had enough
Phil Jackson was working under a five-year deal worth $60 million for his front office job. However, the New York Knicks never got to reap the benefits of that multi-million dollar contract. James Dolan was pretty vocal in how much he trusted Jackson but when Phil publicly stated that he was willing to trade Kristaps Porzingis due to missing an exit interview, that was the last straw.
In an interview after saying he was open to trading Porzingis, Jackson calmly stated that he knew what he was doing and explained that Porzingis was the first player he has ever seen miss an exit interview. James Dolan did not agree, he had enough and finally fired Phil Jackson. The New York Knicks off-season is about to get even more exciting.
