http://sports.yahoo.com/news/how-phil-jackson-is-hurting-the-knicks-140232072.html

NEW YORK – A playoff coach hit the market last weekend, a solid boss with a proven track record and a keen basketball mind. Dave Joerger isn’t a marquee name, but his 147-99 record in three seasons in Memphis was pretty good, and the job Joerger did navigating a battered Grizzlies team to the postseason this year was even better. Sacramento thought so, inking Joerger to a three-year, $12 million deal within days of his ouster.

The Knicks? Not so much.

Team president Phil Jackson wants you to trust him, and man, doesn’t that get harder by the day? Joerger may not be the right fit in New York, but for one of the NBA’s flagship franchises to let another coach come off the board without even a token effort to interview him is a terrible look. The list of coaches at which the Knicks have shrugged continues to grow, while Jackson shows none of the urgency expected as the overseer of a franchise in disrepair.

It’s time to accept a certain reality: Jackson just isn’t cut out for this gig. The world has gotten bigger, and the talent pool has grown with it. An NBA executive must be a tireless workaholic, not an ex-coach who acts like his 11 championship rings make scouring the globe for talent beneath him. Jackson nailed Kristaps Porzingis, a transformative 7-foot-3 big man who will revolutionize the center position. Yet the frontrunner for the Knicks’ coaching job (incumbent Kurt Rambis) has suggested Porzingis play some small forward while staying loyal to a system (the triangle) that doesn’t seem to suit the young star.

The Knicks don’t have a pick next month, which is all the more reason for Jackson to put in the extra work. No asset is more attainable than a second-round pick, particularly from the handful of teams (Boston, New Orleans, Denver) with a few of them. Finding NBA talent there is difficult, but every year yields a Norman Powell, a Jordan Clarkson, an Allen Crabbe, and it’s often the most relentless executives who grab them.

Now is the time for Jackson to marshal his resources, not cruise through the Plains States on an ill-timed break. There’s video to be dissected, college coaches to be called, international scouts with information to be bled dry. Free agency – Jackson’s rebuilding method of choice – has changed, evolved. The magnetic pull to big markets has weakened, replaced by a marketplace of players fueled by a desire to win. New York, with its instability, its annual failures, just isn’t where the elite talent is looking to play.

For years, Knicks owner James Dolan has been derided for being too meddlesome, but this is fast becoming a situation that calls for him to step in. No one knows Jackson’s commitment to the organization, if he will opt out of his contract next summer or stay on for the full five years for which he signed. Jeanie Buss could be a year away from assuming control of basketball operations with the Los Angeles Lakers, and wouldn’t Jackson, her fiancé, a Lakers legend, be just whom Buss would want to help her?

Dolan empowered Isiah Thomas and ran off Donnie Walsh, yet here an intervention is warranted. If Jackson is determined to hire Rambis, Dolan needs to know: Will Jackson be around to see it through? The Knicks have the cash to outbid everyone for Frank Vogel and have had ongoing discussions with David Blatt. If Jackson is ready to pull the rip cord, if his heart just isn’t in it, the Knicks need to commit to a coach, not a system, to a philosophy that’s sustainable, not one Jackson is determined to make work.

Any ambiguity on Jackson’s part and Dolan needs to let him go. The Knicks have a tent-pole player in Porzingis, and they need a top executive eager to spend the next few years supplying the talent around him. Running a team isn’t a young man’s game, but it requires a young man’s hustle. Jackson is a brilliant basketball mind, but it takes more, much more to build a winner.

Dolan empowered Isiah Thomas and ran off Donnie Walsh, yet here an intervention is warranted. If Jackson is determined to hire Rambis, Dolan needs to know: Will Jackson be around to see it through? The Knicks have the cash to outbid everyone for Frank Vogel and have had ongoing discussions with David Blatt. If Jackson is ready to pull the rip cord, if his heart just isn’t in it, the Knicks need to commit to a coach, not a system, to a philosophy that’s sustainable, not one Jackson is determined to make work.

Any ambiguity on Jackson’s part and Dolan needs to let him go.

crzymdups wrote:posting this because I believe it is the perception around the league, not just a few "haters" on this board. don't shoot the messenger, I did not write this article. It was published on Woj's site, The Vertical.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/how-phil-jackson-is-hurting-the-knicks-140232072.html

NEW YORK – A playoff coach hit the market last weekend, a solid boss with a proven track record and a keen basketball mind. Dave Joerger isn’t a marquee name, but his 147-99 record in three seasons in Memphis was pretty good, and the job Joerger did navigating a battered Grizzlies team to the postseason this year was even better. Sacramento thought so, inking Joerger to a three-year, $12 million deal within days of his ouster.

The Knicks? Not so much.

Team president Phil Jackson wants you to trust him, and man, doesn’t that get harder by the day? Joerger may not be the right fit in New York, but for one of the NBA’s flagship franchises to let another coach come off the board without even a token effort to interview him is a terrible look. The list of coaches at which the Knicks have shrugged continues to grow, while Jackson shows none of the urgency expected as the overseer of a franchise in disrepair.

It’s time to accept a certain reality: Jackson just isn’t cut out for this gig. The world has gotten bigger, and the talent pool has grown with it. An NBA executive must be a tireless workaholic, not an ex-coach who acts like his 11 championship rings make scouring the globe for talent beneath him. Jackson nailed Kristaps Porzingis, a transformative 7-foot-3 big man who will revolutionize the center position. Yet the frontrunner for the Knicks’ coaching job (incumbent Kurt Rambis) has suggested Porzingis play some small forward while staying loyal to a system (the triangle) that doesn’t seem to suit the young star.

The Knicks don’t have a pick next month, which is all the more reason for Jackson to put in the extra work. No asset is more attainable than a second-round pick, particularly from the handful of teams (Boston, New Orleans, Denver) with a few of them. Finding NBA talent there is difficult, but every year yields a Norman Powell, a Jordan Clarkson, an Allen Crabbe, and it’s often the most relentless executives who grab them.

Now is the time for Jackson to marshal his resources, not cruise through the Plains States on an ill-timed break. There’s video to be dissected, college coaches to be called, international scouts with information to be bled dry. Free agency – Jackson’s rebuilding method of choice – has changed, evolved. The magnetic pull to big markets has weakened, replaced by a marketplace of players fueled by a desire to win. New York, with its instability, its annual failures, just isn’t where the elite talent is looking to play.

For years, Knicks owner James Dolan has been derided for being too meddlesome, but this is fast becoming a situation that calls for him to step in. No one knows Jackson’s commitment to the organization, if he will opt out of his contract next summer or stay on for the full five years for which he signed. Jeanie Buss could be a year away from assuming control of basketball operations with the Los Angeles Lakers, and wouldn’t Jackson, her fiancé, a Lakers legend, be just whom Buss would want to help her?

Dolan empowered Isiah Thomas and ran off Donnie Walsh, yet here an intervention is warranted. If Jackson is determined to hire Rambis, Dolan needs to know: Will Jackson be around to see it through? The Knicks have the cash to outbid everyone for Frank Vogel and have had ongoing discussions with David Blatt. If Jackson is ready to pull the rip cord, if his heart just isn’t in it, the Knicks need to commit to a coach, not a system, to a philosophy that’s sustainable, not one Jackson is determined to make work.

Any ambiguity on Jackson’s part and Dolan needs to let him go. The Knicks have a tent-pole player in Porzingis, and they need a top executive eager to spend the next few years supplying the talent around him. Running a team isn’t a young man’s game, but it requires a young man’s hustle. Jackson is a brilliant basketball mind, but it takes more, much more to build a winner.

That's the dumbest line in the article LOL. The author suggesting that it may be time for Dolan to meddle

CrushAlot wrote:
He also suggests letting Jackson go. Not a good look for The Vertical in my opinion.

He suggests asking what Phil's commitment level is. Which, given he's on vacation rather than interviewing coaches or scouting potential second round picks... I mean how can you not question it?

Do you not question Phil's commitment at this point? I do.

Though the larger question is - is this the way the rest of the league sees Phil and the Knicks? This isn't some Knicks beatwriter - this is a national writer. I think if this feeling is true, it will make it extremely hard to sign free agents.

We've already seen guys like Rondo, Bazemore (who people here keep laughably suggesting we can sign - he already said he'd never come to NY), etc scoffing at the Triangle and the Knicks...

I think it's gonna be hard to sign FA.

Nalod wrote:"thinking around the league".....Other Gm's that are licking their chops wanting to rape us again?
Please not.

I clearly said Free Agents, not GMs.

Players actually can make up their minds about where they want to go! Crazy, right!?!??

crzymdups wrote:

Nalod wrote:Just because he is not public about the coaching situation and somehow fueling the notion that "We deserve to know".

LOL. The idea that Phil is conducting secret interviews that we don't know about... that's so sad, man. That's not happening. If Phil were interviewing - we'd know. This is the Knicks. If the toilet on the third floor in the executive suites is clogged, someone leaks it to Berman or Isola or Begley.

How come they didn't know about Blatt? Or Rolo? Or DWill? Or the trade of THJr.

This is not your Isiah Knicks.

martin wrote:

crzymdups wrote:

Nalod wrote:Just because he is not public about the coaching situation and somehow fueling the notion that "We deserve to know".

LOL. The idea that Phil is conducting secret interviews that we don't know about... that's so sad, man. That's not happening. If Phil were interviewing - we'd know. This is the Knicks. If the toilet on the third floor in the executive suites is clogged, someone leaks it to Berman or Isola or Begley.

How come they didn't know about Blatt? Or Rolo? Or DWill? Or the trade of THJr.

This is not your Isiah Knicks.

We found out about Blatt like a day after the meeting. We knew he met Rolo. Dwill was a surprise. THjr was a surprise. Draft day deals and free agency signings are different than coaching hires though. Coaching hires around the league leak out. I would say it's almost never a secret when it happens.

martin wrote:

crzymdups wrote:

martin wrote:

crzymdups wrote:

Nalod wrote:Just because he is not public about the coaching situation and somehow fueling the notion that "We deserve to know".

LOL. The idea that Phil is conducting secret interviews that we don't know about... that's so sad, man. That's not happening. If Phil were interviewing - we'd know. This is the Knicks. If the toilet on the third floor in the executive suites is clogged, someone leaks it to Berman or Isola or Begley.

How come they didn't know about Blatt? Or Rolo? Or DWill? Or the trade of THJr.

This is not your Isiah Knicks.

We found out about Blatt like a day after the meeting. We knew he met Rolo. Dwill was a surprise. THjr was a surprise. Draft day deals and free agency signings are different than coaching hires though. Coaching hires around the league leak out. I would say it's almost never a secret when it happens.

Blatt was not announced and Vogel kept mum. Get used to it

Blatt was not announced... but people found out there was a meeting.

I'm sure we won't hear about a Vogel meeting with Phil. Vogel will be the head coach of the Grizzlies before Phil comes down from his trip.

Phil is not hurting this team he is building a winner and some of you have trust issues. Just look at the two top teams in their current conferences what do you see Steve Kerr and Lue. What do they have I common other than being stacked with talent. They were coached by Phil Jackson. The same Phil Jackson that Frank Vogel thought so highly of that he hired one of his disciple Shaw.

Phil is doing a good job. Let the man do his job.

nixluva wrote:Also one funny aspect of all this is that all of the coaches the media and some fans are losing their minds about are not "Modern Offense" guys!!! Vogel, Blatt, Thibs and Joerger are old school guys! LOL.

I don't have a problem with "modern offense" or not... though I think Phil should investigate the fact that 3pts is worth more than 2pts.

My main issue is that Rambis sucks and Phil is on vacation and letting good coaches get hired elsewere without so much as talking to them. Because he is on vacation in Montana with his girlfriend, who coincidentally or not, just hired Phil's buddy Luke Walton to coach the Lakers.