I haven't been spending much time on this board, so hi everybody here.
The true status is that this franchise depends on Melo since they gave him an NTC.
Melo was on his way to the Lakers in free agency, and if there was one executive who couldn't let Melo join Kobe, that was Phil Jackson.
Not to mention Dolan's MSG company like the Knicks would just not accept their higher profile scorer to sign to AEG's Lakers.
When Melo's reps requested an NTC, Phil shoulda just let Melo walk, but I understand why he accepted.
Fans blame Phil for not getting Durant, LaMarcus or even Monroe (yikes), I can't imagine the reaction had he let Melo walk with nothing in return, three months into the job.
It was a difficult job for Phil to take over regardless, that's why I think fans and medias who spend their day bashing Phil, have zero understanding of the business and credibility.
I am especially disappointed by a guy like Stephen A, whom I remember yelling at Marbury on the air for not being a point guard, who today spreads out the notion that Phil didn't want the job. Stephen A has just become Melo's puppet.
Number one, if it was about the money, Phil would have found money elsewhere than NY.
He's a 13 time champion for X sakes. Since when does nobody in the league seeks that kind of résumé ?
Number two, take your sunglasses off, Melo is the one who has been about the money. He had the Knicks to overpay on a trade to keep his bird rights and make the most possible income in free agency in 2011. Then when he became a FA, he used the most cards he could (Lakers, Bulls, etc) to get NY to pay the most they had to. In return, he got them like $7M back to improve the cap situation, and requested the NTC to maintain his alternative business in NY.
But he's never been about the Knicks. Duncan was exclusively a Spur. Kobe was a Laker. Dirk is a Maverick. Those guys never bothered to meet other teams when they were free agent.
Melo's not a true Knick. He's always used competition to reach where he wanted, and already said in Feb it wouldn't be weird for him to play for Boston.
Fans who understand the process are a minority sadly, as it's so much easier to cheer for the star scorer, and yell and blame the regime for losses.