Knicks: Is It Impossible To Rebuild In New York?

“A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” – James 1:8

Whether you are religious or not, you can’t help but see the truth in this scripture. It’s a truth that can be applied to anyone that talks out of both sides of their mouth. It’s a truth that can be applied to the New York Knicks’ President Phil Jackson.

With all the back and forth Jackson has done in a little over two years with ideas and philosophies, he sounds more like a United States’ Presidential Candidate rather than a president of a basketball team:

It’s all about the triangle. Forget about the triangle. Who says the triangle is bad? Who are these people? I need to hire a coach I’m familiar with. I hired a coach I’ve never really met. We don’t need a point guard. We traded for a point guard. We need to rebuild and be patient. Actually, we need to win now.

That’s just a small summary of how Jackson has changed his mind since he joined the Knicks. Is Jackson trolling everyone? Does he just love putting up smoke screens?

Or does it boil down to one simple question: Is it impossible to rebuild in New York?

Jackson was brought in a year removed from the New York Knicks 54-28 season. It seems so long ago when The Knicks won the Atlantic Division title, Carmelo Anthony won the scoring title, Tyson Chandler made the all-defensive team, JR Smith won the Sixth Man of the Year award, and the Knicks won their first playoff series since the 1999-2000 Knicks made it to the NBA Finals.

Destiny had reserved a spot for the Knicks to meet the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals that year, but this, of course, is the Knicks. Everything that could have possibly gone wrong for them did.

Anthony hurt his shoulder, Smith got suspended and lost his mojo, Chandler disappeared, and Roy Hibbert played basketball at an All-Star level when the Knicks squared off against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Knicks never met the Heat during those playoffs. They were sent home early, though there was still hope in New York. That old Knicks’ cliché of “there’s always next year” seemed like a legitimate hope to cling to.

But next year came and the Knicks did a complete 180. The Knicks fanbase had enough and they were out for James Dolan’s head. So Dolan did what he does best: throw money at his problem.

Enter Phil Jackson.

Jackson wasted little time making moves. He traded Chandler and Raymond Felton to the Dallas Mavericks. He got rid of Mike Woodson and his coaching stuff, and was set on implementing a new triangle culture within the organization.

And although he missed out on his first coaching candidate, Steve Kerr, he signed one of his old players, Derek Fisher, as the new head coach. This was a new era. The Phil Jackson Era. An era filled with Triangles and Zen.

Jackson was doing things his way, whether you liked it or not. He was given the keys to the Mecca and had complete control over basketball operations. He was setting the Knicks up for a slow rebuild—a long overdue rebuild.

A rebuild that Donnie Walsh once tried in New York.

And then Jackson re-signed Anthony to a five-year near max deal. Not a bad move if you are looking to win now, but Jackson and company were preaching patience, which contradicted signing ‘Melo. Perhaps Dolan didn’t want to have as slow of a rebuild as Jackson did. But Jackson went back to his rebuilding ways and the next move he made was trading Iman Shumpert and Smith to the Cleveland Cavilers.

The Zen Master then signed D-League sensation Langston Galloway to the main roster. And from there, he led the Knicks to a franchise worst 17 win season. It was often debated, but it appeared as if Jackson tanked the season as part of his rebuild.

The grumblings began from the New York fans and media, especially when Jackson stayed the course. He drafted Kristpas Porzingis, Jerian Grant, and Willy Hernangomez in the 2015 NBA Draft. He followed that by spreading the wealth on a slew of players, including Robin Lopez in free agency, who he signed at an affordable $13 million a year.

When this past season ended in disappointing fashion, Jackson needed to find a new head coach. He was telling everyone he needed to hire a coach he was familiar with, and it was a forgone conclusion Kurt Rambis would be the new captain of Jackson’s ship.

And then he signed Jeff Hornacek.

Throughout the entire season the Zen Master explained how the Knicks didn’t need a point guard.

"“Chasing a point guard, where it becomes just an obsession, isn’t necessary. It’s not necessary. We can play the game without that”"

And then he traded for Derrick Rose. That’s right, after explaining how they can play the game without a point guard, Jackson traded for one. This is the same Rose that played 66 games last season—the most he’s played since first getting injured several years ago.

On the surface this seems like such a Knicks type of move. On the flip side, he’s on an expiring contract, thus making him only a one-year rental.

What did the Knicks give up in that trade? Jose Calderon, who was on an expiring contract. Jerian Grant, who could have developed into the Knicks’ future point guard. And Lopez, who was on a very affordable contract.

With the cap rising, his contract was even better for the Knicks—and he was locked up for the next three years. He was a solid center who could have helped Porzingis with his game while KP was still learning the ropes.

The Knicks replaced Lopez with an older version of himself in Joakim Noah, who only played 29 games last season. Of course, Noah is a much better player than Lopez when healthy, but no one knows which Noah will be playing for the Knicks.

It’s also risky that Noah has a four-year, $72 million fully guaranteed deal.

The Knicks rounded out their starting five with Courtney Lee—probably the best addition to the team this off-season. The reasoning behind all of these moves: to win now.

Win now? What happened to patience? And is this really enough to win now? Can this starting five take out the powerhouse in the East, the Cleveland Cavilers? How about division rivals such as the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors?

Can this team beat the Warriors super-team with Kevin Durant now on it? If it can’t, then is it really a win-now team? Sure, if everyone is healthy the Knicks should make the playoffs, but you can’t dub this team as a win-now team.

Even Hornacek is talking about winning now.

"“I don’t think New York, Los Angeles, they’re not markets that you are going, ‘OK, you’re going through a rebuilding process. You have the ability to spend the money. You have attractive cities to go to. I think they’re always on the win-now thought process.”"

The Knicks have been trying to win-now for years. Remember their latest example of win-now before Jackson came to town? Trading a first-round pick for Andrea Bargnani, who by the way isn’t in the league anymore.

Porzingis backed the notion of win-now during the Knicks summer league:

"“You have to understand the situation,” he said on Saturday. “I’m young, but we don’t have 10 years to win a championship. We got to win soon. So that’s my mindset as well.”“I know those guys want to win right away. They’ve been in the league for a long time,” Porzingis said of Anthony, Noah and Rose. “So all I got to do is stay as mentally focused as I can to help those guys win. That’s the No. 1 goal. I’m not here to have five seasons of just trying to win. I’m going to give 100 percent. If it works, it works, if it doesn’t, we’re going to try next year when our moment comes.”"

It’s good that the kid is aggressive and wants to win. Who could blame him? No one likes losing and losing can take a toll on a player, especially a young one. But even he has to be aware that he is the future of the franchise. There have been NBA teams that built a team the right way.

Additionally the New York media are always all over the Knicks.

The Knicks made a statement with their 2015- 2016 season opener, and some of the media liked what Jackson was doing. This is what New York Daily News writer Frank Isola said after the Knicks’ first win last season:

"“One night in October doesn’t define a season. But at least the Knicks will have a season. So light up a cigar Phil, or whatever it is you may smoke after a win. It’s been a long time coming.”"

But it was that same media that heavily criticized him when the Knicks finished the season with 32 wins, trolling Jackson by saying things like “this is all part of process.”

The thing is the Knicks’ media is as double-minded as Jackson. It isn’t just Isola, either. At one point, they’ll praise his moves for looking towards the future, but out of that same “mouth” rip him apart for not winning.

Now they are on his case for doing the same thing the Knicks front office has done since the Jeff Van Gundy finals run: overpaying for aging injured stars. Old habits die hard.

But did Jackson really have a choice? Fans are often reminded that the Knicks haven’t made the playoffs since signing Jackson. Every move he makes is condemned and ridiculed to the point that it looks as if he just threw his hands up and is now giving everyone what they want—the very thing they’ve hated for all these years.

With an insecure owner, an impatient fan-base, and the magnifying glass of the media, Jackson is now falling under the same trap his predecessors fell in: make a splash by getting former stars, sell some jerseys and tickets, win some games, but not be good enough to win the whole thing.

If the Knicks were ever serious about rebuilding they could have looked no further than their nemesis, Danny Ainge’s Celtics. But that isn’t happening. Not in New York, not with the Knicks.

must read: A different take: it's time to trust Phil Jackson

With the bright lights of New York, it doesn’t matter who Dolan brings in after Jackson, it is impossible to rebuild in New York.