Jackson will present 'triangle' demands


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Jackson will present triangle demands
Apr 24, 2005

April 24, 2005

Before Phil Jackson would agree to coach the Knicks or anyone else, he would want to know a team is committed to winning now, willing to spend to win and also willing to give him the final say on players, his longtime friend and biographer, Charley Rosen, told Newsday.

The Knicks hold some allure for Jackson - "he dug the fans," Rosen said - but they'll still need a dynamic sales job to lure Jackson. "In a sense, he's done New York," Rosen said.







Indications are Jackson - at the top of the Knicks' wish list - would insist on significant roster changes, not a terrible idea. Rosen surmised that the bottom three teams in terms of talent who might be in the market for a coach are Portland, the Knicks and the Lakers. Minnesota and Cleveland are better, with Detroit and Seattle the top two.

That the SuperSonics haven't re-upped Nate McMillan might be a sign they're waiting for Jackson. "He really likes the Northwest," said Rosen, who regularly corresponds with Jackson.

Rosen isn't predicting where Jackson will wind up, or even that he'll wind up anywhere - "During the season he didn't really miss it; he has to be amped up," Rosen said - but the Knicks don't sound like favorites in the derby for the coach with nine rings.

"How stable is the organization?" Rosen said. "The Dolans are at each other's throat. He doesn't want to walk into a situation that's volatile."

Jackson also wants roster authority, which could make things interesting. "This will be his last gig, and he's not going to invest the last three or four years of his coaching life in a place that doesn't meet all the criteria and go to a place where he's consulted but doesn't have veto power," Rosen said.

That could be sticky. Rosen wondered, "Has Isiah [Thomas] been taking enough heat that he'll say, 'Screw it. Let this guy take it, and it'll be on him'?"

Jackson isn't a rebuilder. Rosen said, "He's not a Gene Shue or Larry Brown who comes in and builds from the bottom. He's the kind of guy who takes an underachieving team and brings it to the next level. I can't see him spending two or three years rebuilding a team and losing. If the Knicks go through the draft, that's going to happen."

Guess who doesn't fit

While Rosen said, "The Knicks aren't as bad as people think," they don't have the big center Jackson prefers for his triangle offense and there's doubt about Stephon Marbury.

"The skill players have been 6-foot-5 or 6-foot-6-inch guys, of course [Michael] Jordan and [Scottie] Pippen, guys who could switch on defense and post. Guess who doesn't fit that scenario."

Marbury is a "tremendous talent" but is "short and stumpy," Rosen said, adding he could envision Marbury working on "the second unit." Ouch.

Remember that Rosen, once an assistant coach for Jackson, communicates regularly with Jackson as you consider Rosen's assessments:

Malik Rose ("the best trade Isiah made"), Maurice Taylor ("if he ever gets in shape, a terrific offensive player"), Jamal Crawford ("would be super-duper in the triangle ... a bright kid").

Trevor Ariza ("terrific ... should have been playing 40 minutes a game"), Tim Thomas ("a waste"), Kurt Thomas ("a terrific player who's worn to the nub by having to play center too much"), Michael Sweetney ("has upside but wrong for that kind of offense").

Interesting comments about the players. Would that Rosen want to coach the Knicks? Just kidding, but its interesting that it looks like we have many of the pieces in place for Jackson to want to come in. The odd man out would still be Marbury. Wow, to say Marb would be with the second unit...

Now, I know that it may never happen, but imagine if we could trade Steph and Tim and get the knid of center Jackson wants. Not that there are many of those left, so maybe looking in the draft would be a better idea. In chicago he had Longley and he wasn't any good, so if we can get a center to at least play good defense, we wouldn't be out of Jackson's possibilities. Imagine if Crawford finaly became a superstar in the triangle!

Before Phil Jackson would agree to coach the Knicks or anyone else, he would want to know a team is committed to winning now, willing to spend to win and also willing to give him the final say on players.

a win situation may be a hard concept for this team to adopt......lets see what zeke does in the off season

I think things are moving pretty quickly. Phil is meeting with the principles all within a week.

If phil wants input on personel then he best make it quick.

Phil wants equity, we can't do that, but we can give him a bunch of cablevision stock!

to me, it's phil, or sign herb for 2 years with an option. brown is a windowshopper and will be gone in 2 years. flip, mcmillan, etc have done nothing to tell me they need to be here for 3-4 years.

And herb has, come on, they need to officially rule his ass out has head coach.