Championship bonds last forever, but that doesn’t mean you can’t call someone out for doing a poor job later in their career. Just ask Scottie Pippen. The six-time NBA champion with the Chicago Bulls scorched his former coach and mentor Phil Jackson on ESPN’s The Jump on Thursday afternoon. While discussing the many problems facing the New York Knicks, Pippen said it all comes down to Jackson, the team’s president since March of 2014.
“To be honest with you, I’m gonna have to go at my old coach, Phil Jackson. I just think he hasn’t put the right pieces on the floor. I give a lot of credit to Carmelo, who has been very professional in getting through this 82-game season, and now he’s being benched to some degree… But this team really just hasn’t had it. They haven’t had it since Phil Jackson landed there.” – Scottie Pippen
Ouch. Scottie didn’t hold any punches on that one.
Big Bad Apple
In the three seasons since Jackson took over basketball decisions at Madison Square Garden, the Knicks have a combined record of 77-162. That’s a measly .322 winning percentage. Already mathematically eliminated from playoff contention this season, the Knicks woefully under-performed after Jackson made some splash moves last summer.
Bringing in former Bulls staples Derrick Rose (via trade) and Joakim Noah (free agency) hasn’t yielded great results. Rose has unsurprisingly battled various nagging injuries, and Noah’s 4 year, $72 million contract looks like a humongous mistake. Rose made one of his classic foot-in-mouth comments last summer, referring to the Knicks as a “superteam.” But Carmelo and his sidekicks still can’t figure out Phil’s triangle offense, and coach Jeff Hornacek has looked helpless on the sidelines all season. In addition, Phil’s made things worse by bashing his big star Anthony to the media. That relationship is in rough shape.
Pippen doubled down on his stance that Phil deserves most of the blame and Anthony is the victim of an ugly situation.
“There has not been any upside to think that the New York Knicks were gonna be a contender, and I just feel bad for Carmelo having to go through this and having to deal with it… I’m sure the fans will love to see Carmelo in New York and Phil out.” – Scottie Pippen
When asked if Knicks owner James Dolan should fire Jackson or demand his resignation, Scottie didn’t hesitate: “Yes.”
Dolan is recently on record saying he will honor the remainder of Jackson’s original contract of 5 years and $60 million. That means two more seasons as president of a floundering organization. Will Dolan change his tune? Can Jackson make some readjustments this offseason to right the ship and silence critics like his former pupil Pippen? That seems like a tall task at this point.
Jackson has taken lots of heat for his job performance since reuniting with his beloved Knicks. Fans in New York had high hopes for one of their favorite old players steering the dormant franchise back to relevance. 11 rings between Chicago and L.A. had the mark of a stacked resume. But Knicks fans quickly relearned that leading from the sidelines and leading from the president’s office are two very different tasks. Right now, Jackson is failing at the latter.
Phil’s old workhorse Scottie Pippen put him on blast. He wasn’t the first, and he surely won’t be the last.
