By Richard Ray:
Phil Jackson is a Hall of Fame Coach. He has won 11 NBA titles as a coach (6 with the Chicago Bulls, 5 with the Los Angeles Lakers) and was on the only 2 New York Knick Championship teams as a player in 1970 and 1973. His legacy had been secure in placing him as one of the greatest coaches ever in any team sport and as such largely considered a great basketball mind. After three disastrous years as the President of Basketball Operations for the New York Knicks, Phil Jackson’s legacy is now in ruin.
The 11 championships can never be taken away. Over 1155 wins as coach can never be taken away. He will always be considered one of the greatest coaches, but with the Knicks compiling a winning percentage of only .345 during his tenure, and his insistence in making every coaching hire implement his now antiquated Triangle Offense, his basketball acumen has come into serious question.
The dysfunction that is the New York Knicks is not all Phil Jackson’s fault. Owner James Dolan bears much of that responsibility. However, when Phil signed on as the team president three years ago most Knick fans rejoiced at his pick. Most would have preferred he sign on to coach, but it was perceived that some Phil was better than none. That perception was completely wrong.
Reporters immediately announced that Phil was never really interested in the Knicks position. It was a money grab, with James Dolan’s $12 million a year an offer he couldn’t refuse. Even the usual delusional Knick fan, present company included, could not refute that Phil seemed to have little interest in the job. He was often an absentee executive and his personnel and coaching hires and fires quickly showed the Knicks were not on a path to improvement.
His one shining moment, the selection of budding superstar Kristap Porzingis with the fourth pick two years ago, was more recently overshadowed by a feud with the young star and rumors of his trading that really was the final straw in the patience of even the most ardent Knick fan. Couple this with his public insistence that Carmelo Anthony needed to go, and it was clear that the Knicks were in a much worse state than when he came initially… and that is saying something.
Prior to joining the Knicks, Phil was seen as a brilliant coach. Sure he had some of the greatest that ever played in Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippin, Shaquille Oneal and Kobe Bryant, but his tempermant and management skills were one of the reasons that talent meshed so well.
He had a Hall of Fame career that lead to many considering him a basketball genius. He, with its architect Tex Winters, made the Triangle Offense a household name to basketball aficionados, though no other teams effectively employed it despite the success of the Bulls and Lakers. Phil’s insistence to have his coaches employ the triangle despite the personnel to do so, was one of the contributing factors to his failing as Knick President. Phil seemed out of touch and even worse, he seemed disinterested. No one questioned him as a coach but as an executive we all question his basic ability to evaluate talent.
His last championship as a coach was 2009-10 (a repeat in fact) That was not that long ago, but now his legacy, fairly or not, will be remembered in part for how badly it all ended. A 5 year 60 million dollar contract plus a recent two year extension. It appears it was all a money grab and Knicks fans are the worse for it and it is doubtful that all will be forgiven anytime soon. In LA and Chicago, Phil will likely always be remembered positively, but to New Yorkers and the rest of the NBA, especially younger fans who do not remember the Jordan era, his legacy has been forever tarnished. He got old. He didn’t appear to really keep up with the game or the relationships with the younger players and most importantly he appeared to stop caring.
Phil Jackson made a lot of money from James Dolan and the New York Knicks, only he can determine if the bulge in his bank account was worth the hit to his legacy. I do not know Phil, but judging by the last three years in New York, his account won.
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