NEW YORK (AP) — Phil Jackson has returned to the New York Knicks as their team president.
The
Knicks announced Jackson’s hiring Tuesday at a news conference in the
lobby of Madison Square Garden, where a giant sign reading "Welcome Home
Phil" was overhead and shirts with the No. 18 Jackson wore as a player
lined the racks in the merchandise store.
Jackson signed a
five-year contract that reportedly will pay him at least $12 million
annually and said he will spend significant time in New York.
"This is the best place to play basketball," Jackson said.
Jackson
was a member of the Knicks’ championship-winning teams in 1970 and
1973, but they haven’t won a title since. Jackson went on to become the
league’s most successful coach, winning 11 championships with the Los
Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls.
This will be his first time as
an executive and the Knicks say he will be in charge of all basketball
decisions. Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan said he "willingly
and gratefully" is stepping back to give Jackson the power to make the
changes the franchise needs.
Steve Mills will remain as general manager.
It’s
the second front-office reorganization in six months for the Knicks,
who surprisingly fired GM Glen Grunwald days before the start of
training camp after he assembled most of the roster than won 54 games
last season. Mills replaced him even though he had no previous
experience running the basketball side.
Jackson said he had "no
doubt" that Carmelo Anthony could be the centerpiece of the franchise
going forward as the All-Star forward prepares to become a free agent
this summer.
Jackson will have to decide the future of coach Mike
Woodson, who was 72-34 with the Knicks before this season but only 27-40
heading into Wednesday’s game against Indiana. The Knicks probably
would have loved it if Jackson were willing to do the job himself —
Dolan said the discussion started there when they met at a holiday part
of a mutual friend. But Jackson had made it clear since his last stint
with the Lakers ended in 2011 that he had no interest in returning to
the bench.
Instead he will try to show he can handle the
transition to the front office, which won’t be an easy one given the
obstacles the Knicks face with their salary cap. Amare Stoudemire, Tyson
Chandler and Andrea Bargnani will all be in the final year of expensive
contracts, giving the Knicks little hope of making quick changes next
season.
James said he wouldn’t insist on the triangle offense his
teams ran, but made it clear that he believes in the system’s offensive
principles. He will discuss with Woodson after the season whether he or
some other coach will be brought in to oversee whatever the system is.
Jackson
said he didn’t know how much of the day-to-day work he would handle.
Alluding to what he estimated is five knee and hip surgeries since he
last coached, Jackson said he is "not easily able to move around" on
commercial airlines or in gymnasiums.
But he realized he wanted to
get back into the game after having discussions last year with the
group that tried to buy the Sacramento Kings and move them to Seattle.
That fell through, but it wasn’t long until he had the opportunity with
the Knicks.
"Now to come back to where I’ve started in basketball, it’s a great feeling," Jackson said.
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