New York Knicks: 5 questions on Phil Jackson’s departure

Who’s Next?

The question everyone will be asking very quickly is who is going to be calling the shots at the Garden now that Phil is gone. Sam Hinkie’s name will be mentioned, as will David Griffin’s. Masai Ujiri’s name is already connected with the job.

It matters not. The man calling the shots will remain the same, as it’s been for 20 years.

James Dolan isn’t going anywhere. As long as that’s the case, the Knicks organization will still be run like a dysfunctional version of Hoover’s FBI. No one knows what truly goes on inside, other than that Dolan has his people and his people are untouchable. All we see is the product that gets put out, and the product speaks for itself.

That being said, there is hope. Dolan got it right once, with Donnie Walsh, and things would have kept progressing if he hadn’t meddled in the Carmelo Anthony trade and let Walsh handle things himself. Walsh left soon after, and the franchise suffered as a result, but Dolan seemingly learned his lesson. He stayed out of all basketball decisions for the last three years. The only problem was the guy he hired to make them.

If Dolan can get both things right – making the right choice and then getting out of the way – the Knicks are actually not in a bad situation. They already have the piece of the puzzle that is hardest to come across – a future superstar – and some legitimate young talent elsewhere on the roster. They also have a disgruntled former star and the single worst contract in the league. Which leads us to our next question…