Phil Jackson is going to go ahead and tell us the obvious. The New York Knicks literally couldn’t get any worse last year, and now their team has some sort of hype around it. They signed Robin Lopez and Arron Afflalo, drafted Jerian Grant and Kristaps Porzingis, and also added depth with Derrick Williams and Kyle O’Quinn. Now Jackson knows that’s not exactly what Knicks fans are looking for, but he is begging for patience as this is a process.
According to Tim McMahon of ESPN:
Team president Phil Jackson believes the New York Knicks must prove they can be a winning franchise before they can be considered a destination for the NBA’s premier free agents.
“We need to win, be a competitive team,” Jackson said Monday at the Las Vegas Summer League in his first public comments since the Knicks signed center Robin Lopez, shooting guard Arron Afflalo, and forwards Derrick Williams and Kyle O’Quinn in free agency. “I think we showed agents and players around the league a serious nature of what we’re trying to accomplish. People who know basketball will recognize that, and we’ll have people who want to come here.” …
“We made a defensive attempt in free agency to really kind of solidify our team and give ourselves a basis from which we can work from,” Jackson said. “I think everything went according to how we thought it would go. There were some long shots out there that we took, but the reality was, we wanted what we got.
It’s obvious was Jacksons’ trying to point out here. It takes time. The Knicks will have 5-years to make Carmelo Anthony an NBA champion before his contract expires. Can Phil Jackson do it?
