In the end-of-season review, the New York Knicks appear to be standing firm with their leadership. The team agreed to pick up the remaining two-year option on the contract of team president Phil Jackson, according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Ian Begley. Knicks owner James Dolan has gone on the record publicly saying he will honor Jackson’s contract. According to ESPN, the Knicks agreed to pick up the option “a while ago”.
Jackson had an out in his contract after this season should the league head into a lockout, but that scenario was laid to rest after the new collective bargaining agreement was reached. There was speculation that the two sides would agree to part ways after a disappointing season. The Knicks finished 31-51 and missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. Nobody could fault Dolan for declining the option and searching for a new president. At the same time, Jackson deciding to leave the burning fire he failed to extinguish amidst rising pressure to win coupled by a crumbling relationship with Carmelo Anthony.
Lucky for us fans, it looks like the Knicks will continue to operate with Jackson at the helm. What is less clear is if Anthony will be around to clash with. There are strong signals that point to his departure, and they have been brought up many times throughout the season. Anthony recently said he would consider waiving his no-trade clause in order to get out of New York.
The Knicks are hoping to reignite the franchise through a positive draft and quality pick-ups in free agency. The Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah experiment from last offseason did not go as planned, to say the least. Under Jackson, the Knicks have a pathetic 80-166 record.
