The Knicks are on the ropes, and their summer is all but here. One more haymaker from Miami and the focus turns from getting a playoff win to getting a contending team. It’ll start with health. Jeremy Lin, Amar’e Stoudemire and Iman Shumpert all need to come back like they never left. But how will it finish? New York could want the summer makeover to conclude with a certain Zen Master sitting on his courtside throne. We asked just a week ago how much would it take to get Phil Jackson into the Garden? We might now have an answer.
Originally, The Racine-Journal Times dropped some knowledge, saying if the Knicks didn’t get out of the first round – a certainty now – they’d commence with a long and aggressive pursuit of the man who’s won more NBA championships than any other coach. The climax was $50 million. The rumors said New York would go there if it meant Jackson coming in to teach Stoudemire the nuances of the triangle, and to build Carmelo Anthony into a winner.
Well Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski writes that he believes a three year, $40 million-plus contract could be enough to bring Jackson home.
As he states, the Knicks are an “ATM machine” and with an NBA record streak of 13 consecutive playoff losses, everyone is ready to go all in. Even though a source close to Jackson reportedly says the retired coach isn’t all that excited about the Knicks’ mix-matched roster, there are very few in the NBA that can match them in terms of sheer individual talent.
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: The Knicks have a ton of talent that can’t seem to play with each other or mesh. They have an inside-out combo, which never fit together in an up-and-down season. They have injuries and failed to live up to expectations. They ran off their old coach. Their best player shoots a little too much, and can sometimes approach the game with a single-minded focus that blocks the contributions of the supporting cast. They need a coach who can manage egos.
It’ll take over-the-top gestures to peel Jackson away from his sanctuary of retirement, but New York figures to be the only team in the league with a shot. Jackson has history there. The Knicks have the money and the discombobulated, but attractive talent. If it’s ever going to happen, it’ll happen this summer.
If you were New York, would you go after PJ?
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