dk7th wrote:yeah i really thought we'd be a 35-win team because our defense would suck so bad but this year's implosion is really epic, making last year's implosion look kinda cute. the leadership vacuum of yesteryear has become a leadership black hole and the event horizon is nigh. culture change should have begun with giving melo the heave-ho. now we're just arranging deck chairs on the titanic.

4-18 means we need to go 31-29 the rest of the way.
to make it to .500 means we need to go 37-23.

100% Correct

Melo had to go if you want to talk about a culture change

There are still many who think Melo is a good basketball player. A Top 10 player? Hysterical. Can't even begin to understand what realm some inhabit where they can still claim something so ludicrous. If people hadn't figured out what Melo is before this season and they still cling to their fantasies about how good he is after seeing him this season, then they will live in the darkness of ignorance forevermore.

Melo is not even close to a good basketball player.

All he is is an exceptional scoring talent with a pea-sized brain.

I don't recall any championships built around a pea brain. Doesn't happen.

The only hope for this club is if somehow Phil drafts a monster star, then makes the best free agent signings evah and uncovers a stellar collection of rejects and unknowns to fill it all out.

Translation: You need to build a team where Melo is the second or third wheel at best.

Good luck with that!

Still curious to see if Phil can be a magician. Almost no chance of that, but miracles are fun if they occur.

F500ONE wrote:

Splat wrote:Trying to determine what Phil is really thinking based on what he publicly states is hilarious. The guy is plenty smart in the game of perception. I see tons of affirmations in response to his comments as if one can take anything he says literally on face value. He has plenty of P.T. Barnum in him and many of you fall for his rap every time.

For instance, whether he wanted to tank or not may not matter. He may embrace the tank now and you can be sure he will say the opposite.

Preserving our future is meaningless GM talk. He'd almost surely trade just about anyone on this roster if the right deal came up.

In F5's quotes above, Phil said nothing that is out of the ordinary. The only thing I think you can derive from it is he has used the public platform to send a message to the players more than once, i.e. get on board or get lost. But he will not call out names and devalue assets just yet.

The only thing Phil can be judged on is what team he assembles. His words are pretty much meaningless at this point.

Very vague in surmising what he'd do as this would apply

To any GM in a position of weakness but let's take what he said

And start plugging in scenarios

Would Phil trade Bargnani for Ersan Illyasova{probably not]

Although Ersan>Bargs by a wide margin

Would Phil trade Smith for Avery Bradley[probably not]

Although Bradley>J.R. by a decent margin

Would Phil trade Amare for Ryan Anderson[probably not]

Although Ryan>Amar'e by a wide margin

Would Phil trade Jose and Larkin for Mo Williams and Kevin Martin[probably not]

Although Mo and K-Mart>Calderon and Crack Baby by a wide margin

Saying "right deal" is ambiguous but I think I get the

Oil that sits beneath the water point

What a nonsense post...

First you make up your own trade scenarios, then you assume Phil's role and turn down those hypothetical trade situations you yourself created (as if you have any idea what Phil would do), then you go on to criticize "Phil" for turning down those imaginary trade situations that you've created and rejected yourself while pretending to be Phil.

Thoughtless drivel

Splat wrote:

dk7th wrote:yeah i really thought we'd be a 35-win team because our defense would suck so bad but this year's implosion is really epic, making last year's implosion look kinda cute. the leadership vacuum of yesteryear has become a leadership black hole and the event horizon is nigh. culture change should have begun with giving melo the heave-ho. now we're just arranging deck chairs on the titanic.

4-18 means we need to go 31-29 the rest of the way.
to make it to .500 means we need to go 37-23.

100% Correct

Melo had to go if you want to talk about a culture change

There are still many who think Melo is a good basketball player. A Top 10 player? Hysterical. Can't even begin to understand what realm some inhabit where they can still claim something so ludicrous. If people hadn't figured out what Melo is before this season and they still cling to their fantasies about how good he is after seeing him this season, then they will live in the darkness of ignorance forevermore.

Melo is not even close to a good basketball player.

All he is is an exceptional scoring talent with a pea-sized brain.

I don't recall any championships built around a pea brain. Doesn't happen.

The only hope for this club is if somehow Phil drafts a monster star, then makes the best free agent signings evah and uncovers a stellar collection of rejects and unknowns to fill it all out.

Translation: You need to build a team where Melo is the second or third wheel at best.

Good luck with that!

Still curious to see if Phil can be a magician. Almost no chance of that, but miracles are fun if they occur.

djsunyc wrote:kosmo chimes in from another galaxy...

This board is like groundhog day. As always the same stuff rehashed again and again. People who want to believe in the GM/Pres will have a good explanation (or a scapegoat) for everything (if we're a lotto team, it means we're tanking, if we're on a winning streak and chasing a playoff spot it means the team's good enough and the GM's doing a good job).

At this point, I'm not even mad. I don't really care. As I said last year, I think Phil's just another big name and another big fish for Dolan (one he could acquire with his checkbook). When Melo said he wanted to become a free agent (before the season even started) and it became obvious after only a couple of months, the team was lottery bound, he went after the only name who could appease the fans after another losing season and the fear of losing Melo to free agency. I think Dolan's idea was he could sell the fans "ok we lost Melo to free agency but we have Phil !" in case Melo decided to bolt (unlikely but possible). And if Melo accepted to sign an extension then it was an even better deal for Dolan. That's why he said it was up to Phil Jackson to decide to resign Melo or not. I think Dolan and Jackson had already discussed the matter and Dolan already knew Phil's opinion about that and he knew Phil wanted to build around Melo. Signing Melo or losing him to free agency was going to be Phil's first big move and the one that would define his principles and direction for the team.

Don't want to rehash the same stuff but there are several flaws in Dolan's plan for the team : Phil Jackson's a rookie (no executive experience) and he should never have accepted to keep Steve Mills as GM. He should have surrounded himself with a seasoned GM. So far, Phil Jackson showed twice he was a rookie. First it was said he refused to offer Kerr a five-year $25 million contract, he didn't want to commit longterm to a rookie coach (and he was right) then he offered Derek Fisher the same deal (5 years and $25 mil). Same for Melo, he wanted him to take a paycut and even said he hoped Melo would be true to his word only to cave in and offer the full max. I don't mind the losing and mistakes as long as there's a man in charge, a direction and a clear plan to upgrade the team and build a championship contender. I fail to see a clear cut direction here. There was talk about a so-called 2015 plan but Phil added long term salaries when he traded Tyson Chandler (and Felton) for Calderon (and other players). Now some fans act like there's a master plan and we're tanking ! We added salaries past 2015 but Phil's plan all along was to tank the 2014-2015 season ? He signed a rookie coach for five years only to tank and damage the rookie coach's reputation ? It makes so sense at all. Wether it's Melo (with his injuries and play), Phil Jackson or Derek Fisher, they all took a hit with our losing record and poor play. I don't think Melo, Jackson or Fisher will give us a real advantage during free agency. None of them are selling points right now. Let's hope things will be different next june/july.

With only six months on the job, I don't blame Phil Jackson and didn't really expect much for this season but the reality is this team and organization's still dysfunctional. If there was a real direction and a plan, I could see a silver lining but that's not the case. There lies my problem with Phil...I don't really get what's his long term plan for this team and how he wants to rebuild that team. He made several contradictory and mind-boggling moves leading me to believe he doesn't really know where he wants to go and he's hesitating. The opposite of what he used to be as head coach.

i bolded the material that for me is the heart of the matter. never mind wins and losses: this franchise is rudderless.

dk7th wrote:

djsunyc wrote:kosmo chimes in from another galaxy...

This board is like groundhog day. As always the same stuff rehashed again and again. People who want to believe in the GM/Pres will have a good explanation (or a scapegoat) for everything (if we're a lotto team, it means we're tanking, if we're on a winning streak and chasing a playoff spot it means the team's good enough and the GM's doing a good job).

At this point, I'm not even mad. I don't really care. As I said last year, I think Phil's just another big name and another big fish for Dolan (one he could acquire with his checkbook). When Melo said he wanted to become a free agent (before the season even started) and it became obvious after only a couple of months, the team was lottery bound, he went after the only name who could appease the fans after another losing season and the fear of losing Melo to free agency. I think Dolan's idea was he could sell the fans "ok we lost Melo to free agency but we have Phil !" in case Melo decided to bolt (unlikely but possible). And if Melo accepted to sign an extension then it was an even better deal for Dolan. That's why he said it was up to Phil Jackson to decide to resign Melo or not. I think Dolan and Jackson had already discussed the matter and Dolan already knew Phil's opinion about that and he knew Phil wanted to build around Melo. Signing Melo or losing him to free agency was going to be Phil's first big move and the one that would define his principles and direction for the team.

Don't want to rehash the same stuff but there are several flaws in Dolan's plan for the team : Phil Jackson's a rookie (no executive experience) and he should never have accepted to keep Steve Mills as GM. He should have surrounded himself with a seasoned GM. So far, Phil Jackson showed twice he was a rookie. First it was said he refused to offer Kerr a five-year $25 million contract, he didn't want to commit longterm to a rookie coach (and he was right) then he offered Derek Fisher the same deal (5 years and $25 mil). Same for Melo, he wanted him to take a paycut and even said he hoped Melo would be true to his word only to cave in and offer the full max. I don't mind the losing and mistakes as long as there's a man in charge, a direction and a clear plan to upgrade the team and build a championship contender. I fail to see a clear cut direction here. There was talk about a so-called 2015 plan but Phil added long term salaries when he traded Tyson Chandler (and Felton) for Calderon (and other players). Now some fans act like there's a master plan and we're tanking ! We added salaries past 2015 but Phil's plan all along was to tank the 2014-2015 season ? He signed a rookie coach for five years only to tank and damage the rookie coach's reputation ? It makes so sense at all. Wether it's Melo (with his injuries and play), Phil Jackson or Derek Fisher, they all took a hit with our losing record and poor play. I don't think Melo, Jackson or Fisher will give us a real advantage during free agency. None of them are selling points right now. Let's hope things will be different next june/july.

With only six months on the job, I don't blame Phil Jackson and didn't really expect much for this season but the reality is this team and organization's still dysfunctional. If there was a real direction and a plan, I could see a silver lining but that's not the case. There lies my problem with Phil...I don't really get what's his long term plan for this team and how he wants to rebuild that team. He made several contradictory and mind-boggling moves leading me to believe he doesn't really know where he wants to go and he's hesitating. The opposite of what he used to be as head coach.

i bolded the material that for me is the heart of the matter. never mind wins and losses: this franchise is rudderless.

That was all scathingly on the money.

It is actually more logical to say we are rudderless than to spin any of this in a coherent explanation. Maybe it is my last thread of naive fandom that allows me to believe Phil could look at tanking at his Plan B and now he'll maximize the opportunity, but I concede all the moves leading up to this point have been bad and lacking in focus.

Like I said, miracles can be fun, but that is all Knicks fans have left, because there is no coherent master plan in action. Signing Melo was the biggest decision and Phil blew that. Now he's scrambling to assemble dog crap around his non-championship caliber show dog.

Phil is a spinner. He's going to be in carny mode the rest of his time here. There will come a day sometime next year when most of the natives will get restless and realize Big Chief Triangle is mostly just talking to keep them from rebelling. That's why whatever he says is meaningless at this point, regardless of the fun we've had dissecting or discounting his words.

The only thing that matters is results. It is Round 1 and the Knicks have already been KO'd once. It will only take a couple more flattenings for this franchise to spin off into a black hole for another 5-10 years. That horizon event is this off-season. The clock is ticking. Phil's legacy as GM will already be set in stone in the next 9 months. It doesn't look good.

knickscity wrote:

nixluva wrote:

knickscity wrote:

nixluva wrote:

F500ONE wrote:

Splat wrote:

F500ONE wrote:

Vmart wrote:There is a plan in place. Phil won't say it because it's not right to but we must keep losing to get better. With losses comes higher first and second round pick. With that comes infusion of talent. This team needs serious talent up grade.

No way the plan in place from jump season was Tank

You can talk yourself into it by looking at today's results

But my intelligence will not be insulted by it

Oh no? So even if you believe Plan A was to win this year, you still think Phil didn't have a strong Plan B involving tanking readily in mind? And you don't think he wouldn't pivot into Plan B without a second of hesitation once he surmised as much?

There are plenty of signposts planted over 22 games that show this team repeatedly losing games that are not normal vanilla bad luck. It has turned the corner from incidental to orchestrated and you're saying you're too smart to see this? Come on.

The point is even if Phil thought the players would gel enough to put out some kind of interim product, to suggest he didn't have a ready scenario that would get fully behind a tank if the team didn't mesh defies belief.

Naahhh this team is losing games

Much the same they did last year

You couldn't come up with the ways we lost last yr

And we've remained on the same course this yr

We're just that bad but it's so alarming and hard for some to accept

It's the truth, if he wanted to resort to Plan B

Then we should be seeing heavy doses of Wear-Larkin-THJR-ACY

I mean Fisher got biched out by Amar'e first couple weeks

Plugging him into the starting lineup

And you can't publicly punk trash the guys you're playing

If you're trying to lose games

It would only to prove to backfire in the long run

The Panicking of timeouts, playing guys who are hot

Threatening the guys they could be gone in December

Doesn't add up

This year is different because the team wasn't coming in with the same coach as the previous season.

This year is different because it is about developing a young new coach, some young players and reconditioning some vets.

This year is different because they went in with the notion that this was going to be about establishing a new culture and system, which could be difficult. It could take some time and would expose those who can't cut it.

Nothing has really changed with the poor start. This team is still going to have a ton of guys come off the cap. This team still has a Draft Pick. Basically the only issue is that the Media and some fans are Trolling the team and not using any sense of reason about what this season is all about.
This was a tough job even if everyone was healthy and if everything worked out perfectly in adjusting to the new culture, which it hasn't. People were clamoring for Jason Kidd to be fired early last year too, so it just exposes the LAME ASS Fans who have no patience or sense of reason. People need to chill the freak out and let this process play out. There's literally no reason to panic of be overly critical at this stage of the process. Sure it's frustrating but we have options for the future no matter what happens this season.

You cant be serious. This team is worse than even the naysayers were saying, but you werent saying that then. No need to flip flop like you knew it would be tough.

What happened to all the we have Phil and Fisher and Calderon talk? All three are failing. Phil has NOT changed the culture as of yet, Fisher is no better today than he was when hired. And Calderon is stil the same loser he's always been.

Better hope some players are duped into this supposed mystique of Phil Jackson the executive.

Sure act like Jose was healthy from game one and there is no excuse for him being a bit off his game. This is what I mean by LAME ASS FANS. You just want to act like things went exactly like Fish and Phil planned and we had no issues that have disrupted the already tough process of adjusting. When I and others were making early season predictions it wasn't based on injuries to key players from the very start. Pretty damn sure no one was making predictions based on Larkin starting instead of Jose. Truthfully it makes no sense talking to you guys its like talking to bricks.

Now you want to make Phil out to be some kind of fraud cuz the team is struggling early. Jesus I can't take you clowns anymore. You go on thinking you know more than Phil and that this poor start is some kind of proof that he's a fraud. That makes total sense one month into this process. You guys have made up your minds on this after 22 games. Why wait to see what happens after a full season or wait to see what he does with the roster going forward. SMDH. I'm done. You guys can have this forum.

Nah, YOU acted like the team was healthy...guess what Calderon is old, getting hurt is natural. Phil just told you what everyone already knew.....Bargnani has bad conditioning, and he's had it ALL season. Phil also said plain as day players are resisting, things we can see from watching the games...this team isnt running the triangle at all...I personally told you this.

I dont care what their plans are if they cant carry them out. Injuries are part of the game, that stuff happens, I personally told you this, now you wanna cry "no fair how could anyone know"? You put this spin every year on this same terrible team.

Phil thought this was a playoff team.....I knew it wasnt. Does that make me smarter than Phil....you decide.

But dont run away, eat your crow.

This is such a groundhog day debate with him

Remember during this offseason he flat out referred to us as clueless

And in no way we having the foresight to predict injury recoveries to

Shumpert and J.R. previous offseason to begin that season in which he said

Contributed to the 3-13 start but now this season

We're off to a 4-18 start and he once again is calling us trolls and victory lap runners

Because no way we had the foresight to predict Calderon's slow 9gm start and injury

To him and his Cronie Andrea "Deadly Shooting Suprise" Ooooooohh-Nani

Let's say he's somewhat visionary here and we're on the wrong side of "know what"

Well how come he didn't factor in the uprise-uptick from the competition in the East

And across the league in general

Bonn1997 wrote:
Nixluva will always be wildly optimistic.
At least he's usually more polite than some of the other homers here.

4-18 would make any Nixluva snap. Could be a rough few years for him. Hope he stocked up on jerky and bottled water.

Nalod wrote:

mreinman wrote:

Vmart wrote:There is a plan in place. Phil won't say it because it's not right to but we must keep losing to get better. With losses comes higher first and second round pick. With that comes infusion of talent. This team needs serious talent up grade.

if he wants to lose, why play the starters so many minutes? and why is he taking so many chances almost winning? These close games must be killing him!

The show is on broadway. People need hope.

Exactly. This is still an entertainment business. You can't display "full tank" to a NYC audience...they'd go ballistic. Reminds me of that Downey Jr. line in Tropic Thunder about going "full retard". So you make a show of it, with plenty of narrow losses.

I think they're doing a remarkable job of camouflage tanking. I'm loving it. Close games that we narrowly lose by thinly veiled subterfuge (e.g., letting Kemba waltz to the hoop unobstructed).

Moonangie wrote:

Nalod wrote:

mreinman wrote:

Vmart wrote:There is a plan in place. Phil won't say it because it's not right to but we must keep losing to get better. With losses comes higher first and second round pick. With that comes infusion of talent. This team needs serious talent up grade.

if he wants to lose, why play the starters so many minutes? and why is he taking so many chances almost winning? These close games must be killing him!

The show is on broadway. People need hope.

Exactly. This is still an entertainment business. You can't display "full tank" to a NYC audience...they'd go ballistic. Reminds me of that Downey Jr. line in Tropic Thunder about going "full retard". So you make a show of it, with plenty of narrow losses.

I think they're doing a remarkable job of camouflage tanking. I'm loving it. Close games that we narrowly lose by thinly veiled subterfuge (e.g., letting Kemba waltz to the hoop unobstructed).

When I asked is Melo a co-conspirator or a fuktard, only F5 answered with # 2.

But if anyone has ever, I MEAN EVER, seen a more blatant tank-type play than Melo standing idly by as Kemba waltzed in for a lay-up, I'd like to see it.

But not one single fan boy has stepped up to claim Melo did his best or it means anything other than him being a tank commander or a fuktard. He's both actually, but I only listed A or B as voting options, not A & B.

Bonn1997 wrote:

F500ONE wrote:

knickscity wrote:

nixluva wrote:

knickscity wrote:

nixluva wrote:

F500ONE wrote:

Splat wrote:

F500ONE wrote:

Vmart wrote:There is a plan in place. Phil won't say it because it's not right to but we must keep losing to get better. With losses comes higher first and second round pick. With that comes infusion of talent. This team needs serious talent up grade.

No way the plan in place from jump season was Tank

You can talk yourself into it by looking at today's results

But my intelligence will not be insulted by it

Oh no? So even if you believe Plan A was to win this year, you still think Phil didn't have a strong Plan B involving tanking readily in mind? And you don't think he wouldn't pivot into Plan B without a second of hesitation once he surmised as much?

There are plenty of signposts planted over 22 games that show this team repeatedly losing games that are not normal vanilla bad luck. It has turned the corner from incidental to orchestrated and you're saying you're too smart to see this? Come on.

The point is even if Phil thought the players would gel enough to put out some kind of interim product, to suggest he didn't have a ready scenario that would get fully behind a tank if the team didn't mesh defies belief.

Naahhh this team is losing games

Much the same they did last year

You couldn't come up with the ways we lost last yr

And we've remained on the same course this yr

We're just that bad but it's so alarming and hard for some to accept

It's the truth, if he wanted to resort to Plan B

Then we should be seeing heavy doses of Wear-Larkin-THJR-ACY

I mean Fisher got biched out by Amar'e first couple weeks

Plugging him into the starting lineup

And you can't publicly punk trash the guys you're playing

If you're trying to lose games

It would only to prove to backfire in the long run

The Panicking of timeouts, playing guys who are hot

Threatening the guys they could be gone in December

Doesn't add up

This year is different because the team wasn't coming in with the same coach as the previous season.

This year is different because it is about developing a young new coach, some young players and reconditioning some vets.

This year is different because they went in with the notion that this was going to be about establishing a new culture and system, which could be difficult. It could take some time and would expose those who can't cut it.

Nothing has really changed with the poor start. This team is still going to have a ton of guys come off the cap. This team still has a Draft Pick. Basically the only issue is that the Media and some fans are Trolling the team and not using any sense of reason about what this season is all about.
This was a tough job even if everyone was healthy and if everything worked out perfectly in adjusting to the new culture, which it hasn't. People were clamoring for Jason Kidd to be fired early last year too, so it just exposes the LAME ASS Fans who have no patience or sense of reason. People need to chill the freak out and let this process play out. There's literally no reason to panic of be overly critical at this stage of the process. Sure it's frustrating but we have options for the future no matter what happens this season.

You cant be serious. This team is worse than even the naysayers were saying, but you werent saying that then. No need to flip flop like you knew it would be tough.

What happened to all the we have Phil and Fisher and Calderon talk? All three are failing. Phil has NOT changed the culture as of yet, Fisher is no better today than he was when hired. And Calderon is stil the same loser he's always been.

Better hope some players are duped into this supposed mystique of Phil Jackson the executive.

Sure act like Jose was healthy from game one and there is no excuse for him being a bit off his game. This is what I mean by LAME ASS FANS. You just want to act like things went exactly like Fish and Phil planned and we had no issues that have disrupted the already tough process of adjusting. When I and others were making early season predictions it wasn't based on injuries to key players from the very start. Pretty damn sure no one was making predictions based on Larkin starting instead of Jose. Truthfully it makes no sense talking to you guys its like talking to bricks.

Now you want to make Phil out to be some kind of fraud cuz the team is struggling early. Jesus I can't take you clowns anymore. You go on thinking you know more than Phil and that this poor start is some kind of proof that he's a fraud. That makes total sense one month into this process. You guys have made up your minds on this after 22 games. Why wait to see what happens after a full season or wait to see what he does with the roster going forward. SMDH. I'm done. You guys can have this forum.

Nah, YOU acted like the team was healthy...guess what Calderon is old, getting hurt is natural. Phil just told you what everyone already knew.....Bargnani has bad conditioning, and he's had it ALL season. Phil also said plain as day players are resisting, things we can see from watching the games...this team isnt running the triangle at all...I personally told you this.

I dont care what their plans are if they cant carry them out. Injuries are part of the game, that stuff happens, I personally told you this, now you wanna cry "no fair how could anyone know"? You put this spin every year on this same terrible team.

Phil thought this was a playoff team.....I knew it wasnt. Does that make me smarter than Phil....you decide.

But dont run away, eat your crow.

This is such a groundhog day debate with him

Remember during this offseason he flat out referred to us as clueless

And in no way we having the foresight to predict injury recoveries to

Shumpert and J.R. previous offseason to begin that season in which he said

Contributed to the 3-13 start but now this season

We're off to a 4-18 start and he once again is calling us trolls and victory lap runners

Because no way we had the foresight to predict Calderon's slow 9gm start and injury

To him and his Cronie Andrea "Deadly Shooting Suprise" Ooooooohh-Nani

Let's say he's somewhat visionary here and we're on the wrong side of "know what"

Well how come he didn't factor in the uprise-uptick from the competition in the East

And across the league in general

Nixluva will always be wildly optimistic.
At least he's usually more polite than some of the other homers here.

So which one do you like to be referred to as Bonn

- Victory Lap Runner

- Troll

- Musketeer

- Clueless

- HATERZ

- FAKE KNICK FAN

- Somber

I have no problem with having love for the team

Be judicial in assessments across the board

It reminds of when fans were upset Blake Griffin

Was ranked ahead of Melo by ESPN

It's like okay you like Melo but don't hate on Blake out of spite to the point of ignorance

Nalod wrote:

djsunyc wrote:kosmo chimes in from another galaxy...

This board is like groundhog day. As always the same stuff rehashed again and again. People who want to believe in the GM/Pres will have a good explanation (or a scapegoat) for everything (if we're a lotto team, it means we're tanking, if we're on a winning streak and chasing a playoff spot it means the team's good enough and the GM's doing a good job).

At this point, I'm not even mad. I don't really care. As I said last year, I think Phil's just another big name and another big fish for Dolan (one he could acquire with his checkbook). When Melo said he wanted to become a free agent (before the season even started) and it became obvious after only a couple of months, the team was lottery bound, he went after the only name who could appease the fans after another losing season and the fear of losing Melo to free agency. I think Dolan's idea was he could sell the fans "ok we lost Melo to free agency but we have Phil !" in case Melo decided to bolt (unlikely but possible). And if Melo accepted to sign an extension then it was an even better deal for Dolan. That's why he said it was up to Phil Jackson to decide to resign Melo or not. I think Dolan and Jackson had already discussed the matter and Dolan already knew Phil's opinion about that and he knew Phil wanted to build around Melo. Signing Melo or losing him to free agency was going to be Phil's first big move and the one that would define his principles and direction for the team.

Don't want to rehash the same stuff but there are several flaws in Dolan's plan for the team : Phil Jackson's a rookie (no executive experience) and he should never have accepted to keep Steve Mills as GM. He should have surrounded himself with a seasoned GM. So far, Phil Jackson showed twice he was a rookie. First it was said he refused to offer Kerr a five-year $25 million contract, he didn't want to commit longterm to a rookie coach (and he was right) then he offered Derek Fisher the same deal (5 years and $25 mil). Same for Melo, he wanted him to take a paycut and even said he hoped Melo would be true to his word only to cave in and offer the full max. I don't mind the losing and mistakes as long as there's a man in charge, a direction and a clear plan to upgrade the team and build a championship contender. I fail to see a clear cut direction here. There was talk about a so-called 2015 plan but Phil added long term salaries when he traded Tyson Chandler (and Felton) for Calderon (and other players). Now some fans act like there's a master plan and we're tanking ! We added salaries past 2015 but Phil's plan all along was to tank the 2014-2015 season ? He signed a rookie coach for five years only to tank and damage the rookie coach's reputation ? It makes so sense at all. Wether it's Melo (with his injuries and play), Phil Jackson or Derek Fisher, they all took a hit with our losing record and poor play. I don't think Melo, Jackson or Fisher will give us a real advantage during free agency. None of them are selling points right now. Let's hope things will be different next june/july.

With only six months on the job, I don't blame Phil Jackson and didn't really expect much for this season but the reality is this team and organization's still dysfunctional. If there was a real direction and a plan, I could see a silver lining but that's not the case. There lies my problem with Phil...I don't really get what's his long term plan for this team and how he wants to rebuild that team. He made several contradictory and mind-boggling moves leading me to believe he doesn't really know where he wants to go and he's hesitating. The opposite of what he used to be as head coach.

I don't know how after such a short time on the job a conclusion can be drawn when we are not privy to the plans and their priority.
Very little is "Mind boggleing". Kerr created a market for his services and knew he'd have suiters. No way he even sniffs us if not for his relationship with Phil.
Melo leaves if not for a strong visionary that was Phil. And the money of course. We could have signed and traded him, and we still can. Its an asset we could not afford to lose.
Tyson trade also yielded Clearanthony and at least last summer Jose was seen as a big improvement over Felton. Jose has played just a few games. Felton has not. Is Jose tradeable? Could be.
Tyson was never in our long term plans so we got someting in return. His play last year vs this year is very different. Tyson on a good team, in a contract year and healthy.

Is Phil a Starphuch? Of course he is. We love him, love the "Old KNick returns", the "Red Holzman prodigy thing" and his 13 rings all resonate with the image of winning. The culture? The dude really took over in June and in 6 months hardly can measure much effect. If you were expecting rabid change im sure there are dissppointments. If one was expecting improvement based on statements then I get the disapointment there, but its the NBA and leaders of teams always spouting how great things will be going forward. They want to you buy tickets and wants sponsers to pay big fees to advertise.

So why the distain this week? Why so many fed up? Seems like the Media got ready for Phil to speak and with one quarter of the season in decided to get the average fan worked up and angry over the season.
With nothing to cheer about it makes them guilible to anger.

Another Dolan starphuch? Same old same old?? Stay tuned.

Nalod in all of what you stated

The majesty that is Phil

Did not trump "George Washington"

Kerr left for George and Melo stayed for George

The proof was further validated in free agency

When Phil's majesty couldn't cast spell on Pau

Your Spock speak and Vulcan hand sign fails to penetrate the mind here

This had been building all season, it's not an all of a sudden Cosmic Boom

There have been traces of evidence examined since his arrival