Knicks team president Phil Jackson delivered a rather somber state of the union for his 4-18 team as he spoke with gathered media this afternoon. The Zen Master addressed the possibility of trades and looked ahead to offseason free agency, as we highlight below. All of the links go to Twitter, unless otherwise noted:
- The Knicks aren’t going to make a trade for someone who wouldn’t be a long-term fit, and the desire continues to be to preserve flexibility for the future, Jackson said, as Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com passes along. Intriguing trade opportunities haven’t become readily apparent at this point, Jackson added, according to Mark Berman of the New York Post. The team won’t make “movement for movement’s sake,” Jackson said, adding that he doesn’t “see anyone who doesn’t want to be part of this organization,” as Newsday’s Barbara Barker transcribes. Still, “sometimes there’s addition by subtraction,” the Zen Master reminded, as Berman notes.
- Jackson worries that the Knicks’ losing ways might negatively influence the way free agents see the team, Begley observes.
- Jackson once more insisted that he has no desire to coach the Knicks, Barker notes. He said that he reviews each game with Derek Fisher and top assistant coach Kurt Rambis, but the Zen Master added that he hasn’t spoken to the team as a group in three weeks, according to Begley. Jackson also lent his support to Fisher, as Frank Isola of the New York Daily News relays. “He’s a remarkable character. … I think he’ll make it work,” Jackson said of Fisher.
- The Knicks have suffered from a resistance to discipline, order and culture change, Jackson said, as Isola and Berman pass along, echoing earlier comments from Fisher, who senses that his players have lingering doubt about the triangle offense, as Begley wrote in a full piece.
I wonder who he’s talking about…
“Addition by Subtraction” (JR Smith)
“Resistance to Discipline” (JR Smith)
Either him and/or Shumpert.
“The Knicks aren’t going to make a trade for someone who wouldn’t be a long-term fit”. OK, so refresh my memory. Exactly who do the Knicks have to trade that would bring back this sort of player?
This is precisely why he said they aren’t going to make a trade at this point. No trades just to be making a trade as the last 5 Knicks GMs always seemed to do. I’m glad someone is finally showing some patience in MSG. If Isiah Thomas had any patience, we would have drafted Noah and Aldridge instead of trading them (as draft picks) for one decent year of Eddy Curry.
To be fair, they havent had Jose Calderon for most of this season. Didnt he just come back? They’ve also been in on a lot of their losses. I think they’re a little better than some people think. I admit that thinking they may be a 6-8 seed was a little shortsighted, as I thought Cleanthony Early would be more of a factor, at least defensively, and I also didnt expect Calderon to miss that much time