Phil Jackson didn’t need the public on his side when he was a head coach. Now that he’s an executive, public opinion matters—specifically amongst players.
The New York Knicks are talk of the town for all of the wrong reasons. Phil Jackson continues to make thinly veiled comments about Carmelo Anthony through public platforms and the team itself is getting blown out by non-contenders.
No matter what transpires on the court, Jackson can’t continue to alienate the players with his actions towards Anthony.
Jackson hasn’t been wrong about Anthony in his public criticism; ball movement and defense continue to be flaws. What’s been tough to agree with, however, is the manner in which he’s approached such criticism.
Jackson may have been able to criticize his players through the media when he was a coach, but he has a new level of responsibility as an executive.
Jackson was relentless in his criticism of his players when he was a head coach. Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, and Scottie Pippen all felt Jackson’s wrath at some point or another, and The Zen Master had no problem making his thoughts known to the public.
Jackson was an 11-time NBA champion as a head coach who saw his players on a daily basis, however, and his situation as an executive isn’t quite the same.
Jackson doesn’t run the Knicks’ practices like he did as head coach of the Chicago Bulls or Los Angeles Lakers. He doesn’t travel with the team on the bus or flight like he did as head coach of the Bulls or Lakers, either.
Like most executives, Jackson is separated from the team in an attempt to allow the head coach to do their job.
Thus, with such distance put between him and the players, public call-outs aren’t quite as effective as they used to be. He doesn’t spend enough time speaking face-to-face with the players for such a tactic to work.
Or, perhaps, he doesn’t spend enough time speaking face-to-face to this one player, Anthony, for such a tactic to work.
Bleacher's Ding almost rings the bell, but I learned you don't change the spot on a leopard with Michael Graham in my CBA daze.
— Phil Jackson (@PhilJackson11) February 7, 2017
Jackson doesn’t need the players to like him in order for the team to be successful; Jerry Krause proved as much with the Bulls of the 1990s. Jackson himself was at odds with Krause, as were Jordan and Pippen.
The difference between Chicago and New York, however, is that Krause had already drafted his core of Jordan and Pippen.
New York has Anthony and Porzingis, but their timelines don’t fit as well as Jordan and Pippen’s. Anthony is 32 years of age and Porzingis is 21, which creates an 11-year age difference—far more than the two years between Jordan and Pippen.
Thus, if the Knicks are going to build a championship team around Anthony, they’ll need to do so through free agency.
Clearly, if the Knicks become a championship-level team over the course of the next two-to-three seasons, free agents will come. Many around the NBA are already intrigued by Porzingis, and the league is beginning to be intrigued by Willy Hernangomez.
Jackson will also have a first-round draft pick to work with in 2017—a luxury he wasn’t granted in 2014 or 2016.
In the event that Jackson aces the 2017 NBA Draft, it would be hard to deny the Knicks’ future appeal in free agency. A core of Hernangomez, Porzingis, and a star perimeter player would garner interest, as would the New York market.
Time has also been known to heal wounds, which means distance from the Anthony fiasco could save the Knicks.
True as that all may be, a Knicks team with Anthony on the roster doen’t need free agents in two-to-three seasons; it needs free agents to come in 2017. Unfortunately, New York is stuck in basketball limbo because of the front office’s indecision and Anthony’s inconsistency—and not one or the other.
Jackson clearly wants to start over and rebuild, but his moves in free agency—namely re-signing Anthony—have New York stuck in between a rebuild and an immediate push for a title.
If Jackson wants to build an immediate contender, he’ll need to be able to appeal to free agents in 2017 and beyond. That won’t be easy to do if he continues to criticize Anthony through the media and alienate the players who respect him.
Anthony is as well-liked as any player in the NBA and one could argue that the most appealing pending free agent in 2017 is a close friend of his: Chris Paul.
Must Read: Small forwards to evaluate in the 2017 NBA Draft
If Phil Jackson is going to master his craft as an executive in the same way he did as a head coach, he must be wary of the adverse effects of his public comments—even if his intention proves to be pushing Anthony out of New York.