After ESPN's Ramona Shelburne reported that the Knicks and Phil jackson have decided to part ways, it confirmed one thing -- the Knicks still don't know how to run an organization. A lot of that has to do with owner, James Dolan.
Dolan's bad hire list continues
Let's think back to all of the bad hires that Dolan has made as his tenure as owner. It was Dolan who hired Isiah Thomas at the team president of basketball operations and general manager in 2003. Then, in 2004, the Knicks hired Larry Brown to a five year, $50 million contract.
After one losing season, Brown was fired and bought out for $18 million.
When all said and done, Brown made $28 million for one year of coaching. Then, Thomas took over as coach. He was fired after the 2006-2007 season when he was stripped of his management duties.
Moving ahead, the Knicks had Mike Woodson as a coach. Woodson guided the Knicks to back-to-back playoff appearances, but after missing the playoffs in his third year, they fired him. Dolan had the bright idea of hiring Jackson, who then hired Derek Fisher, who didn't last more than 1 1/2 seasons.
Dolan and Jackson realized that they both wanted different things. Jackson wanted to get rid of Carmelo Anthony, while Dolan did not. The top of buying out Anthony was shot down. Jackson was sensitive to Kristaps Porzingis missing an exit meeting to then saying they were looking at possible trades.
The list could go on, but one thing is for sure, Jackson is another dead money deal that went bad.
Can't blame everything on Jackson
Why would anyone want to work for Dolan? According to the New York Times, Dolan has been under investigation for sexual harassment, and had to pay $3 million of an $11 million settlement back in 2007.
He let fan favorite, Jeremy Lin, walk away for nothing instead of trading him in 2012. Then, this past year, he banished fan favorite, Charles Oakley, until fans backed up Oakley.
Jackson may have not been the best at making moves to make the team better. In fact, he was terrible. The team went 80-166 in his three years. However, working for a bad owner can have a ripple effect.
As long as Dolan is running the show in New York, no Knick team will ever win.
What should the Knicks do now?
They should get on the phones and call Chauncey Billups. The former five time All-Star has not decided if he wants to move to Cleveland. New York can sell their city and make the move from Denver easier. Billups is a family man, and that is partially the reason he does not want to leave Denver --because his family reportedly likes it. Billups knows basketball, and has been grooming for a front office job since he retired. Billups would give Knicks fans hope, while also providing a winner.
