Big Chief Triangle officially back in the Big Apple of Eden

http://espn.go.com/new-york/nba/story/_/id/10607795/phil-jackson-deal-new-york-knicks-finalized
Phil Jackson signed on to become president of the New York Knicks after a lunch meeting with team officials Friday, sources have told ESPN.

Serving as Knicks president could prove to be the most challenging job of Phil Jackson's stellar career.
Todd Musburger, Jackson's Chicago-based agent, was in Los Angeles to finalize the contract with Jackson and Knicks officials, according to sources. Jackson's deal is for five years and is expected to pay him $12 million annually but does not include an ownership stake, sources said.

The Knicks released a statement earlier Friday saying a "major announcement" would be made Tuesday at 11 a.m. ET at Madison Square Garden.

Jackson, who has won a record 11 NBA championships as coach of the Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls and two as a Knicks player, probably will spend significant time in New York but also retain some time in Los Angeles, sources said.
Jackson will take over the running of the Knicks' basketball operations department from president and general manager Steve Mills. A source said earlier this week that Mills will remain an integral part of the organization.

Jackson's discussion with the Knicks has been ongoing for several months, sources said.

 

Thanks for the six championships, Phil. Now go do your thing elsewhere.

For way too much money.

 

So Phil gets $60mil and the guy who he's nominally replacing is staying to handle any of the work that Phil may find tedious? Sweet!

 

He needs to do two things right away:

1) Set the tone for the organization. Winners, not stat padders.
2) Sit tight a year. After next season, they only have $13M committed.

He has cards to play:

He'll have to sign Melo. That'll change the picture some, but they'll have cap space.
He might be able to deal Amare's big expiring contract.

His ability between the lines is unquestioned. We've never seen him work from the front office in this kind of capacity.

$12M/year seems like a huge amount to pay for just a publicity stunt.

 

Two words: Joe Dolan.

 

Two words: Phil Jackson.

BTW, PJax should have had Krause's job instead of breaking up the championship team.

 

Oh I am not dissing Phil or his ability. I am just saying if it WAS a $12 M publicity stunt it would be the kind of monumental dumb spending Dolan is famous for. I think hiring P Jax is one of the Knicks' rare rational decisions.

 

You'd think PJax would do his due diligence and not allow himself to be made into a sideshow attraction.

 

I know. If things change in New York it will take more than one season to do it.

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...hpModule_a4df998e-86a7-11e2-9d71-f0feafdd1394

 

The Hall of Fame coach-turned-executive left no question Tuesday that he*believes Anthony is part of the Knicks' future.*

"There's no doubt about Carmelo being one of the top scorers in the league, maybe the best individual isolation player in the game," Jackson said. "I have no problems with committing to saying Carmelo is in the future plans."*

Those words have to crush the Bulls front office. Anthony was the top priority for the Bulls this summer. They hoped to pair him with a core of*Derrick Rose, Thibodeau and Noah and push toward a championship. The feeling was that Anthony would take pressure off Rose as he came back from his second knee injury and would thrive under the tutelage of Thibodeau.*

Now Jackson has come in and changed the game. It's hard to imagine any scenario in which Anthony shuns Jackson and his championship pedigree, not to mention the $30 million-plus and extra year on a guaranteed contract that only the Knicks can offer.

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/bulls/post/_/id/18305/carmelo-dream-likely-over-for-the-bulls