Saving the New York Knicks: A Phil Jackson Story
With the New York Knicks season “officially over,” the real season for Phil Jackson begins
As it turns out, the question that burned in the minds of basketball fans and New Yorkers alike has at last been answered.
Was this year, the first with Phil Jackson at the helm, a total bust?
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Yes. Yes it was.
The New York Knicks have officially become the first team eliminated from playoff contention. They came to grips with the failure that was this season earlier on by cutting ties with Amar’e Stoudemire (who has since moved on to playoff contention with the Dallas Mavericks), traded Iman Shumpert and JR Smith (both also now enroute to the postseason as members of the Cleveland Cavaliers), shutting down Carmelo Anthony, and lets face facts, Phil Jackson himself literally said on several occasions that this year was a total bust.
The sole highlights of the season for the Knickerbockers were beating the Cavaliers in Lebron James’ not-so-triumphant return to Cleveland, and co-hosting what many believe was one of the better All-Star Weekends in recent years.
Now, with no real hopes for this season, the attention of the team has to shift to the impending offseason.
Phil Jackson needs to orchestrate one of the greatest offseasons in recent professional sports memory. The Knicks need to be declared undisputed winners in the draft, free agency, and trades as we amp up for the next go around.
Mar 11, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; Reggie Jackson speaks with New York Yankees catcher Brian McCann (34) before the game against the Boston Red Sox at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Phil needs to become the first Jackson to hit three home runs in a game since Reggie literally did it for the Yankees in the 1977 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Which is fitting because the only team playing in this exact same game against the Knicks is Phil Jackson’s former darlings: the Los Angeles Lakers.
Just like Reggie, Phil is a huge name coming in from the Golden Coast. His achievements are astounding elsewhere, but in the Big Apple it doesn’t matter unless you can win it all here. Reggie Jackson solidified himself as a legend in New York sports with his “Mr. October” performance in the postseason. For Phil, the postseason victory will need to come away from the hardwood.
The New York Knicks are a team that are in need of a complete makeover from top to bottom. The only certainty it seems is that Carmelo Anthony will return, but even there you don’t really know how well he’ll perform after substantial time away from the game.
Solidifying another top-tier star who can co-exist with the shot-happy forward and building a rotation around them that is championship-contention worthy would be a tall task to ask of someone over the course of a five-year period.
Asking Phil Jackson to put it together in a matter of months is nearly impossible. But this is New York we’re talking about, and the fact of the matter is the only way for Phil to become the a hero in this city is to go above and beyond to make the impossible a reality.