Knicks never in Jackson's plans
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
BY DAVID WALDSTEIN
Star-Ledger Staff

PORTLAND -- Phil Jackson, noted author, multimillion-dollar basketball coach and Zen spiritual adviser, recently wrote an epilogue to his (seemingly) never-ending book, "The Last Season."

In it, he chronicles his meeting in Los Angeles with Isiah Thomas on May 2, and makes it clear he never had any desire to take the Knicks job.

"Isiah was very gracious in our meeting," he wrote, "and though he did not make a formal offer, I got the feeling that the job is mine if I want it. Fact is, I don't."

This explains why Thomas came away from the meeting convinced Jackson would not be his man, which some Knicks officials believe was what Thomas was hoping to hear. That allowed him to be patient and wait for Larry Brown, who is much better suited to coach this rebuilding Knicks team than Jackson would have been, the Knicks' 0-3 start notwithstanding.

The question is, why did Jackson bother meeting with Thomas? For the same reason the meeting became public knowledge so quickly -- it served both sides to let the world know about it. It didn't hurt Jackson's bargaining position with the Lakers if he was being courted by the Knicks, and the Knicks couldn't dismiss a chance to hire a coach with nine championship rings.

Thing was, Thomas had something even better in mind, which was waiting for his old friend Brown to become available once the Pistons season ended.

Brown and Jackson will square off for the first time since Brown's Pistons beat Jackson's Lakers in the 2004 NBA Finals a week from today in Los Angeles.

In Jackson's epilogue, which was posted on ESPN.com, the former Knick player was very complimentary of Thomas, but explains why he wasn't interested in taking the job.

"I know there are those who believe this move makes so much sense during this late, and perhaps final, stage of my basketball career," he wrote. "I started as a Knick, so, therefore, I should finish as a Knick. Yet, while I possess wonderful memories of playing in New York, of riding my bike to the Garden, of learning everything about the game and life from Red Holzman, I feel no urgent need to go to back to New York to fulfill some kind of destiny determined by others."

Jackson, who seemed to be more focused on arranging a meeting with Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant than the Knicks job, says of Isiah:

"I like Isiah a lot, and believe he is an astute observer of the game with his own vision of how to make the Knicks a contender again. Sure he and I were rivals in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but as you get older, you develop a deeper appreciation for the struggles you endured together. Instead of hating your rival, you learn to honor him. It is a vital component of the warrior mentality to respect your enemy, to realize that you cannot be great unless he is great."

Its cool. It needed to be done. Maybe if Lake gig did not come to fruition he might have considered it but he needed leverage.

Isiah did his due dilligence and paid his respect to the Zen Master and checked his interest. I thought Jax comments about Isiah were very complimentry and honest.

In the end it all worked out for everyone. We got perhaps a better coach who likes to teach and take on the challange, and Phil got to stay in Malibu, get mega money, and his women on the beach. Phil would have been a fool to give that up.

I say in two years we meet up with them in the Finals. We only get our championships against the Lakers!