Interesting from Berman - Phil would consider Rondo and didn't like what Fisher said about him.
The Phil Jackson-Derek Fisher disconnect ran as deep as Rajon Rondo.According to an NBA source, the Kings point guard will still “keep an open mind’’ regarding the Knicks this July when he becomes a free agent, despite Fisher’s cutting remarks.
Before Fisher’s last game as the Knicks’ head coach, the Super Sunday matinee versus Denver, Fisher denigrated Rondo, who had seemingly taken a poke at the triangle offense.
According to the source, Jackson likes Rondo’s skill set a lot and feels he can mesh him into any system, triangle or no triangle. It seems bizarre with the Knicks desperate for a point guard this summer that Fisher would take a shot at Rondo, considering management’s view of the former Celtic.
There seemed many factors in the decision to let Fisher go, but that remark couldn’t have helped matters as that night Jackson contacted owner James Dolan to make his decision to promote Kurt Rambis.
It all started when Rondo, before facing the Nets, was asked by The Post about the Knicks’ controversial system.
“The triangle is not really a good look for me, I don’t think,” Rondo responded. The source said Rondo was not in any way demeaning its use, just stating his opinion about how his skills would fit.
Fisher seemed to take it as a much bigger affront.
The two had their wars in two NBA Finals — in 2008 and 2010, when Fisher played for the Lakers and Rondo for the Celtics — and it showed.
A reporter asked Fisher if he was concerned an elite point guard would make such a remark.
“That’s your decision on whether or not he’s elite or not,’’ Fisher said. “You can’t ask him, when he wasn’t very successful playing against it, whether or not he wants to play in it. That’s his opinion. That’s fine. He doesn’t play for us. We’re not concerned about his opinion about us at this point.’’
Sources have indicated Fisher is a huge fan of Memphis point guard Mike Conley, a fellow left-handed playmaker who also is an Arkansas product.
Fisher could very well not know Jackson’s respect for Rondo’s game. Rondo has resurrected his career in Sacramento after his messy divorce from Dallas, where he clashed with coach Rick Carlisle. Rondo is averaging 11.9 points and a league-leading 11.9 assists. Though not considered a very good outside shooter, Rondo is shooting 46 percent from the field and 35.8 percent from 3-point land.
Since the firing, sources have indicated Jackson and Fisher just didn’t talk nearly as much as the Zen Master envisioned when he hired him off the playing court. Jackson hinted along those lines when he discussed the firing last Monday.
“We had a line of communication,’’ Jackson said. “A lot of times it was one way and I understand. A lot of times it was, the conversation might have been through written emails where he was either in a practice or a situation and he usually, a lot of the times sent me back a short note — got it or will get on it.’’
Jackson added he told Fisher in the meeting that maybe he didn’t “mentor” Fisher “as well as I should have.’’
When he coached, Jackson was big on developing strong personal relationships with his players. A source said Fisher may have not stepped up in that department either in getting to know the players well enough, perhaps distancing himself too much.
2/16/2016 1:21 PM