Phil Jackson: 'So Far, My Experiment Has Fallen Flat On Its Face'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Knicks have won five of seven, but you might remember that they started out 5-36 and endured an almost unthinkable 16-game losing streak.
This season was expected to be a transitional one for the Knicks. It's Phil Jackson's first as team president, Derek Fisher's first as head coach and the triangle offense takes some getting used to.
Not to mention that many players -- J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert are already gone -- will not be part of the future as the team looks to retool.
But Jackson, who has 13 championship rings to his name, never envisioned that it would get this bad.
"Like nothing I've seen before," Jackson said of the Knicks' first 41 games, according to The New York Times' Harvey Araton. "So far, my experiment has fallen flat on its face."
The "Zen Master" isn't used to losing, much less getting embarrassed and being the laughingstock of the NBA.
The good news? The coach-turned-executive will have cap space to work with this summer, and he might even have a first-round pick in the NBA Draft.
"You do need great players to win the championship," Jackson told the newspaper. "But having to always chase the best talent in free agency eventually becomes a mindset of, well, the best talent wins as opposed to who plays the best team basketball -- which is what San Antonio showed last season."
The Knicks (10-38) are a half-game in front of the Eastern Conference-worst 76ers (10-39). The Timberwolves (8-40) own the worst record in the NBA.
