Rosen I mean.
Real interesting read.
"While many fans and media are celebrating the firing of Phil Jackson, it says here that, while he has certainly made many mistakes, he doesn’t deserve the universal condemnation he is now receiving.
One big reason for his dismissal was the furious bias against him on the part of the New York media. This has its roots in 1999, when he was between his stints in Chicago and Los Angeles.
Then-Knicks president Dave Checketts asked for a private meeting with him. The Knicks were then coached by Jeff Van Gundy and were struggling — but eventually reached the NBA Finals in the lockout-shortened season.
The subject of Jackson taking Van Gundy’s job was never raised. In fact, Checketts only wanted P.J.’s opinion of the Knicks’ roster — which players were keepers and which should be goners?
But the New York sportswriters believed Jackson was after Van Gundy’s job and thereafter routinely cast Jackson as a villain.
When P.J. did come to the Big Apple over a decade later, he had to make numerous decisions.
Jackson dealt Raymond Felton (a slow, mediocre point guard) and Tyson Chandler (a no-offense, overrated defense and chronic malcontent) to Dallas for Shane Larkin, Samuel Dalembert, Joe Calderon, and Wayne Elliington. Basically not much for even less.
He gave J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert a chance to show that they could play team ball. But Smith proved to be totally unreliable with a ball in his hands. Shumpert’s play was spotty. He alienated teammates with his loud, boisterous, and annoying presence in the locker room.
They were both sent out of town.
In return, the Knicks got Lance Thomas and Lou Amundson — both useful players — plus a draft choice and an $8.5 million trade exception.
Next to go was Tim Hardaway, Jr., who was selfish, defenseless, and incredibly immature. In exchange, New York received the No. 19 draft pick, which translated into Jerian Grant.
Then came the major deal: Robin Lopez, Grant, and Jose Calderon for Derrick Rose and Justin Holiday.
Losing Lopez, a defensive stalwart and all-around positive presence, was painful. Grant was a poor shooter who had trouble adjusting to the point guard position. Calderon was way past his prime.
Holiday, however, was an excellent long-range shooter and an improving defender. Rose was apparently healthy, but his shaky jumper, poor defense, and penchant for over-penetrating made him a risky get. The idea, though, was for Rose to be a heavy-duty scorer and, as such, take some pressure off Kristaps Porzingis.
Rose being MIA in training camp was disruptive. Plus, his positives failed to outweigh his negatives.
Two more of Jackson’s major moves have to be examined.
The aim in re-signing Carmelo Anthony to a no-trade contract was (as the triangle unfolded) to have Melo get the ball at the pinch-post, i.e., one elbow or the other. From there, he would be one or two dribbles away from the hoop, and too isolated to be easily double-teamed.
When the triangle fails to generate a good look and the shot clock is expiring, getting the ball to someone who can create his own shots is a necessity. In other words, Melo was given the chance to be the next Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant.
But Anthony wanted no part of sacrificing his hold-and-shoot game in favor of a team-oriented attack.
(By the way, despite its many critics, the triangle can still be a viable and effective NBA offense … but that’s another story.)
Then there was the signing of Joakim Noah to a humongous free-agent contract. Yes, Noah had lost a half-step laterally, but he was still a tough and savvy defender. Because he was arguably the best passing big in the league, Noah was also a perfect fit for the triangle.
But he wasn’t in game shape when he reported to training camp. Then he got sick and his conditioning got worse. As a result, he was never sufficiently physically fit to be a plus-player. Then he got hurt. Then he took a drug he shouldn’t have taken.
All told, signing Noah was an unmitigated disaster — not totally of Jackson’s making.
Okay, what about Melo?
His sticky fingers destroyed any offensive cohesion. He saved steps on defense and was always a malcontent. Trading him would have been (and still is) best for him and for the organization.
Yet because of the media’s bias, Melo was always portrayed as a victim and Jackson the victimizer. The first part of this scenario lasted until Anthony’s allegedly adulterous affair became public knowledge.
And Porzingis?
True, because of Melo and Rose, K.P. didn’t get enough shots. However, he was also unduly influenced by Anthony’s private complaining, so much so that he became disrespectful to several members of the coaching staff.
This unleashed another problem only because the assistants left from Derek Fisher’s tenure were imported (along with Fisher) from Oklahoma City. They disregarded anything and everything said by Kurt Rambis and Jimmy Cleamons.
Jackson does deserve some blame for not foreseeing this contagious disagreement among the staff.
Anyway, with Porzingis acting like a prima donna, and with his guaranteed tenure in New York limited to the next two seasons, how risky would it be to make him the focus of the offense?
So, then, if Jackson’s quick fix with Rose and Noah was an unmitigated failure, there were other factors in the team’s downward turn.
But what’s done is done.
Jackson has never worried about his “legacy.” That’s just another false concern of the media.
Anyway, while I have yet to connect with him, I’m sure Jackson is somewhat relieved by escaping from what was a lose-lose situation.
Even so, after a career top-heavy with success, the failure of his latest (and last?) NBA adventure is sure to be painful for him.
Jackson should be remembered not only for his rings, but for his honesty, loyalty, willingness to take risks, and above all for being, to all who know him well, a championship-caliber human being."
https://www.fanragsports.com/nba/knicks/rosen-analyzing-phil-jacksons-tenure-knicks/
6/28/2017 5:47 PM