Phil Jackson has always teetered on a fine line between looney hippie and cognitive Zen master.
His unique coaching style was a rare combination of mindful stoicism and intentful antagonism. On the sidelines he was more subdued than his adversaries. Behind the media’s microphones, Jackson would mentally poke and prod the psyche of his superstars. In hindsight, its easy to dismiss his kooky antics as part of a visionary process for behavioral management. But that only came after the realization of eleven championships amidst a myriad of myopic criticism.
Did we really expect his metamorphosis from head coach to front office executive to happen overnight?
No matter how great a basketball mind, expecting Jackson to come straight from the sidelines to the board rooms, with no learning curve, would be foolish.
There have absolutely been missteps.
In year one, he was rightly accused of taking pennies on the dollar for capable veterans.
His first major transaction was the Tyson Chandler trade, which sent him and Raymond Felton out for a package headlined by Jose Calderon, Shane Larkin and two second round picks. This past summer he openly admitted his mistake in not snagging diamond in the rough small forward, Jae Crowder, when he had the chance.
The second big trade, was an essential salary dump of J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert. The move was mocked around the league for the lack of return on two serviceable backcourt players. However, the Knicks have craftily unearthed their own gem from the rubbish of return, turning Lance Thomas into a solid rotational player.
Perhaps worst of all, Jackson showed folly in his loyalty to the branches of his own coaching tree. Jackson correctly pinned former player, and eventual Coach of the Year, Steve Kerr as his primary candidate. After being snubbed for a younger, and more talented, roster in Golden State, Jackson made a seemingly knee jerk decision. He turned his sights from one former player to the next, from the carefree Kerr to the diligent Derek Fisher. The latter, not even months removed from the game, didn’t have the experience nor perspective necessary for the job.
But Jackson has proved to be a quick learner. The next offseason, he started to build the foundation of the Knicks roster.
The most obvious move, and the one he doesn’t get enough credit for, is the drafting of Kristaps Porzingis. It’s far too easy to oversimplify and underappreciate the means, once the ends have been realized. It’s one thing to say you should draft the player with the highest ceiling. What if it will take 5+ years to reach that ceiling, and even then it’s not a guarantee? What if you’re in the most highly criticized position, with the most impatient employer, in your industry?
Not all executives are willing to take that risk. In New York, I’d wager that most would not. There was a bit of luck, and a great deal of trust in the decision.
But geared with the confidence of his head scout, Clarence Gaines, and the reassurance of his former player, and fellow European, Pau Gasol, Jackson took the plunge.
“Clarence had gone over and seen him and he sent Phil a text and said if he had the first pick of the draft, this is the kid he would take,’’ Knicks general manager Steve Mills said.
“I spoke to Pau Gasol recently, he said he was 227 [pounds] when he was drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies [and] approximately the same height,” Jackson said. “[Gasol] was trying to reassure me [that] I was a skinny kid when I came in the NBA, too. I think another stone or so, [Porzingis] should weigh before he’s four or five years in the league. Maybe two stones.”
Then came the more subtle moves, which took until this year to materialize.
Jackson was not done with the selection of Porzingis in the 2015 draft. Capitalizing on the 76ers abundance of picks in the draft, and lust for more in the future, Jackson dealt two future second round picks for the 35th pick in the draft which he used to select Willy Hernangomez. He then followed up with the deft sign-and-trade of the under-utilized, skilled big man, Kyle O’Quinn. Both were subsequently signed to team-friendly contracts upon joining the Knicks (O’Quinn at 4 years, $16 million and Hernangomez 4 years, $5.8 million).
In the same offseason, he acquired the assets that would ultimately be traded in for Derrick Rose and Justin Holiday. Jackson traded Tim Hardaway Jr. for the rights to 19th overall selection, Jerian Grant, then leveraged the financial flexibility created by the Chandler and Smith/Shumpert deals to land Robin Lopez on a 4-year, $60 million contract. One that looked much better with a rising cap.
Jackson had already succeeded in clearing the rubble left by the past regime and laid the concrete for a new foundation. Now it was time to build his own team.
The first step, an atonement for his ghosts of Triangle past.
Midway through the 2015-16 season, Jackson cut the cord on his experiment with neophyte head coach Derek Fisher. While most expected Jackson to pick another leaf from the Triangle tree, he resisted temptation, hiring the creative and adaptive Jeff Hornacek. True to his word, Jackson has kept his distance and allowed Hornacek to coach his own way. Under Hornacek, the Knicks have utilized the pick-and-roll far more and the Triangle much less. They have improved their offensive rating from 24th in the NBA to 13th, and their pace from 26th to 13th.
With a coach in place, Jackson turned his attention back to the roster.
In order to accommodate his new coach, Jackson broke one of his Triangle tenets and acquired true point guards. There was the aforementioned Derrick Rose deal, which brought the Knicks a low-risk, dynamic point guard. With Rose’s injury history, the Knicks fortified the position by bringing in Brandon Jennings with an even lower risk, prove-it deal for 1 year, $5 million.
Jackson dipped into free agency to find two more new starters. His primary target, the mobile and fiery big man, Joakim Noah. On paper, Noah seems to be what the Knicks have been missing. An emotional leader who can anchor a defense and positively affect the locker room. Unfortunately, Noah has been hampered by injuries the past few years and is a shell of his 2014 Defensive Player of the Year self. He still adds value to the team, but his lack of shooting ability and injury proneness are making his 4 year, $72 million contract look more like an albatross on Phil’s resume with each passing day.
After letting Arron Afflalo walk, Jackson was able to find an upgrade, and better fit, at shooting guard in Courtney Lee. A true 3-and-D player who knows his role and won’t complain about an inevitable lack of shots on certain nights. An offense predicated around Derrick Rose, Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis provides plenty of opportunities for open shots. Lee is the perfect compliment.
In three years, Phil Jackson has drafted the face of the franchise and completely transformed the roster. The only player remaining from the pre-Jackson regime is Carmelo Anthony.
Besides the big name acquisitions, Jackson has been adept at obtaining role players for very little. Let’s not forget that players like O’Quinn and Hernangomez, who are making the Noah signing look questionable, are Phil Jackson acquisitions themselves. Then there’s rotational players like Justin Holiday, Lance Thomas and Mindaugas Kuzminskas who either seemed like trade throw-ins or were uncovered from an increasingly more competitive international free agent pool.
Phil promised his star player, Carmelo Anthony, he would put together a roster capable of winning games. Three years later he has accomplished that goal. A relatively healthy Derrick Rose combined with resident All-Star, Carmelo Anthony, emerging phenom, Kristaps Porzingis, and a surprisingly deep and versatile team should have the New York Knicks playing meaningful basketball in April.
It makes the outrage of his recent comments about Carmelo Anthony all the more laughable (full interview below). The media themselves have chastised Carmelo for being a ball hog time and time again. Only when Phil Jackson brings up the same idea, in a response that otherwise compares Anthony to Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, does it become grounds for dismissal. This isn’t Jackson’s first rodeo, and if he knows anything, it’s how to manage the personalities of his star players.
Of course, the work is not done. The Knicks have yet to formally make the playoffs under Jackson. His future decisions on Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah may very well define his legacy as Knicks president. But for the first time in awhile, Phil Jackson has restored hope and winning basketball to New York (without giving up any future 1st round picks).