Knicks Rumors: 5 Reasons Phil Jackson Won’t Leave New York In 2017

3. It’s Finally His Team

Phil Jackson’s first three years as a team president of the New York Knicks were the equivalent to a college football head coach first taking over. He’s brought in a number of his own players, but a significant number of the key players were the product of the previous regime.

The 2016-17 Knicks are finally Jackson’s team—and it’s no coincidence that they’re winning games and competing for a playoff spot.

It was the previous regime that traded the Knicks’ 2014 and 2016 first-round draft picks. That alone has handcuffed New York to a vision that required unfavorable financial maneuvering and a number of trades that intended to nothing more than blow up the roster.

It took two full seasons and three drafts for Jackson to move on from the previous regime, but he’s finally responsible for the full roster.

Jackson drafted Kristaps Porzingis and signed or re-signed every player who’s currently on the roster. Though the hiring of Derek Fisher didn’t work out, his second head coach, Jeff Hornacek, is already turning the Knicks around.

With full control over the Knicks and responsibility to be taken for every move he’s made, Jackson no longer has to overcome the mistakes of old.