The New York Knicks gave Phil Jackson an enormous contract to be the team president and run the show for them a couple of years ago. Jackson was tasked with turning around the fortunes of a franchise that has been down for a long time. So far, Jackson has not done that, but it seems as though he is making progress towards that end. Now, though, there are questions about whether he will be in New York to finish off the progress, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
Jackson signed a deal with the Knicks in 2014 that was worth $12 million a year to run basketball operations. That was the richest contract ever given out to somebody in that position, but the Knicks were confident that he would help them move in the right direction. Now there is some chatter that when Jackson gets the opportunity, he might bolt from New York back to Los Angeles to rejoin the Lakers in an organizational role.
Jackson's contract with the Knicks is for five years, but that contract does include an opt-out after either this season or next. There have been conflicting reports about when the opt-out, is but Frank Isola of the New York Daily News believes that it is after this season. For his part, Jackson has said all of the right things about how he is committed to the Knicks and he plans to see this thing through, but he does have strong ties to the Lakers.
Jackson won five championships with the Lakers, and his fiance, Jeanie Buss, is part owner and president of the team. Because of that, there is a "strong belief" that Jackson is planning an exit strategy and will find his way back to L.A. Jackson's uncertain future with the Knicks could have a major impact in their search for a coach and their ability to sign free agents.
Jackson hand-picked Derek Fisher to be his head coach, but he fired him after just one-and-a-half seasons at the helm. Now Jackson has to look for another coach, and he will likely be looking for someone who can teach the triangle. If Jackson hires someone who teaches the triangle and then bolts for the Lakers that will set the Knicks back big time because whoever takes over for Jackson will likely not stay loyal to the triangle offense.
Wojnarowski isn't the only person that has heard Jackson might be headed back to Los Angeles as Stephen A. Smith of ESPN heard the same rumblings. Even if Jackson is committed to staying with the Knicks, the mere suggestion that he might leave could hurt them. Jackson has earned himself some goodwill by making the Kristaps Porzingis pick, but the man that was supposed to be the savior of the franchise still has a lot of work left to do, and him leaving would put the Knicks in a very bad situation.
