Schmeelk: Right Now, Phil Jackson Is The Emperor Of The Knicks
By John Schmeelk
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Of all the answers James Dolan gave during his interview on Friday, his "Ask Phil" comment had the biggest meaning of all.
It confirmed a promise that was made when the "Zen Master" was hired -- that the Knicks' owner would get out of the way of basketball decision making.
Dolan has officially passed the buck. It now stops with Jackson. Dolan wouldn't even go as far as to offer an opinion on how the Knicks' season is going. This is Jackson's show and if it is up to Dolan, it will be for two more seasons.
Dolan also promised that he will leave Jackson in place for the full term of his contract. The only way Jackson will not be the Knicks' president through the end of the 2018-19 season is if he walks away from the job, leaving $24 million on the table in the process. There is no longer a potential Lakers job waiting for him, either.
MORE: Schmeelk: Phil Jackson Is Proving To Be Terrible At His Job
Certainly, there is a chance that Jackson decides all the headaches that come with running the Knicks in the shark-infested waters of Madison Square Garden aren't worth it. But are the headaches so bad to give up $24 million? I wouldn't bet on it.
Knicks fans are stuck with Jackson. It was Jackson that inked Carmelo Anthony to that five-year contract two offseasons ago and gave him a no-trade clause. It will be Jackson's responsibility to decide whether to trade him. Dolan said he would have no influence on it.
The Knicks' fate is in the hands of the man that decided it was such a great idea to give Joakim Noah four years and $72 million. And he made that his first move of the offseason before even looking at the rest of the market.
These are Phil's Knicks and their future will be determined by him.
It's not fair to criticize Dolan for not meddling. It's what everybody asked for. He is finally leaving basketball decisions to basketball people. He just chose the wrong person. If this would have happened with Donnie Walsh as general manager the franchise would be in much better shape today.
It is fair, however, to want Dolan to find a middle ground. He should keep out of basketball decision-making, but he should hold the power to decide the obvious: Jackson has done a bad job as GM. It would be keeping with Dolan's promise to decide if Jackson can be trusted to run the team moving into the future. Without that power, Jackson is the emperor.
Perhaps Jackson can turn all this around. Given the fact he is on his second (technically, third with Kurt Rambis) coach and third version of the roster, the signs are not encouraging. He will get two offseasons worth of chances. If he can draft as well this year as he did two years ago, he can salvage his legacy.
Ultimately, a big part of Jackson's fate will be decided by how he leaves this roster, talent-wise, around Kristaps Porzingis. A big part of that will almost certainly be related to the return he can get for Anthony in a trade. This franchise has been begging for a reset for three years, and if Jackson can pull that off he has a chance to make his legacy more positive than negative. Getting a good haul of either draft picks and/or good young players for Anthony can help that a whole lot.
On the other hand, if he leaves Porzingis with nothing around him after trading Anthony for pennies on the dollar, his failure will be complete. Jackson already made the mistake of re-signing Anthony and giving him a no-trade clause, but he can undo part of that by getting something good for him now.
The only one that can stop Jackson has abdicated that power. This is Phil's show and we're all going to have to watch it. Dolan and every Knicks fan will now have to live with the results.
Schmeelk's Snippets
- The Knicks played their best game of the season on Sunday. In beating the Spurs, they actually were committed on defense, and in part thanks to the Spurs' poor shooting, were able to beat the team with the second-best record in the Western Conference. The frustrating part of the game is knowing that the Knicks would actually be comfortably in the playoffs if they played defense like that consistently. But they aren't capable of that, which is why they are not a good team, and sit where they do in the standings.
- The obvious ploy by Dolan to gather former Knicks players around him on Sunday, including the return of Latrell Sprewell, was borderline pathetic. Everyone knew exactly the point he was trying to make. It's not going to work or salvage the PR disaster the Charles Oakley situation has become. The only way that problem gets solves is by reconciling with Oakley and celebrating him at the Garden. It's an easy fix if both sides are willing to do it.
For all things Knicks and Giants, please follow John on Twitter at @Schmeelk
