I am for reeeeal. The audacity of New York Knick fans to blame their misfortune entirely on Philip Douglas Jackson. For the last two seasons the narrative in NYC has been "its all Phil's fault". I for one am completely and utterly flabbergasted by the thought.
How could you prematurely judge the greatest winner in the history of the sport before he had a chance to fulfill his contractual obligation? Not even half way through his five year deal fans had already dismissed him and labeled his tenure with the team a failure. For the life of me I can't understand how a team that hasn't won in four decades can be so impatient. What ever happened to trusting the process?
Phil inked a five year deal with the Knicks in 2014, but what about the decade and a half of mediocrity that took place prior to his arrival? If blame is going to be rightfully placed then you must take into account the condition of the team he inherited. The Knicks are the worst franchise in professional sports bar none. You may think a team like the Sacramento Kings or Cleveland Browns hold claim to that dubious distinction but because of the historical significance of not only the team, but New York City basketball itself it is by far the Knicks.
I'm not saying that every move made by Mr. Jackson was a success, but how funny is it that the team is doing so well after trading Carmelo Anthony and having KP as the focal point? Moves that Phil wanted to make years ago but was unable to because of backlash from the fans and resistance from ownership. Had Melo been traded two seasons earlier the deal would have been much more lucrative for the team. League executives now look at Anthony as a star passed his prime and weren't willing to part with major assets in order to land him. So you get stuck with Doug Mcdermott and Enes Kanter, good players in their own right but significantly less than what Carmelo was once worth.
Do remember, Phil Jackson was the only person in the world who wanted to draft Kristaps Porzingis. And although the Derek Fisher coaching experiment was a huge failure the man he initially wanted for the job was Steve Kerr. Imagine how crazy KP would look in Steve Kerr's free flowing offense. Now imagine how crazy he would look if the Melo trade happened two years ago and he got a chance to play in Kerr’s offense with a substantially better roster.
And yea Phil was willing to part ways with Porzingas prior to this years draft, but they would’ve been foolish not to. The Boston Celtics were trying to acquire an additional top five draft pick to pair with their number three overall pick in a package for KP. Hypothetically the Knicks would have drafted third, fifth, and eighth in the 2017 draft. Jason Tatum, De’Aaron Fox, and Dennis Smith Jr? ( I don’t think they still draft Frank Ntilikina over Dennis Smith if they already have De’Aaron Fox) That is a no brainer! Even in exchange for a once in a lifetime talent like Kristaps.
Most disgruntled Knickerbocker fans point to the signing of Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah as the nail in the coffin of the Jackson regime. While they were indeed gambles that didn’t pay off keep in mind the precedents established by the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. There is no longer just a salary cap ceiling but a salary cap floor as well. Meaning teams must spend at least approximately $53 million per season in salaries to avoid being penalized. Leading to ridiculous contracts like the Lakers signing Timofey Mozgov to a four year $64 million deal. With New York being not being able to attract any top free agents they were forced to take leftovers like D.Rose and Noah. With Yoakim being a hometown kid, and Rose being a former MVP even if the acquisitions didn’t translate into wins they were guaranteed to generate ticket and merchandise sales. Now had they actually been able to return to form it would’ve instantly made the Knicks the second best team in the conference.
The bottom line is Knick fans are always looking for a scapegoat. They wanna blame Isiah Thomas, or Stephon Marbury, or Phil Jackson, instead of realizing that James Dolan is the common denominator of all their problems in the last two decades. He is responsible for establishing the toxic environment which has corrupted everything that is orange and blue. He simply has no incentive to build a championship team. As owner of the New York Knickerbockers you will always make money hand over fist simply because of the location and notoriety of them team. Smaller market teams like San Antonio or Oklahoma City must consistently produce contenders or they could lose their team all together. (Seattle Supersonics, and Vancouver Grizzlies)
New York, the mecca of basketball hasn’t been a championship city since Phil Jackson himself wore the jersey in 1973. But the city and its fans dismissed him before he even had an opportunity to prove himself. Completely disregarding thirteen championship rings, and fifteen championship appearances. There is no single executive, or coach, or even transcendent player that could turn that organization around in just a season or two. Undoing two decades of disaster will take much more. Had fans trusted his process, and been willing to let him deal Carmelo Anthony sooner I have no doubt The Zen Master could have done so.