NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
Phil Jackson is not fondly remembered in New York Knicks history, even though he won a championship with the team as a player in 1973.
The former longtime head coach, who won 11 titles on the sidelines, joined the Knicks in 2014 as team president, and during his tenure they went 80-166.
During his tenure, it became apparent that Carmelo Anthony and Jackson didn’t jibe for several reasons, which Jackson all but confirms in his new book, “Masters of the Game,” to be released next Tuesday.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON Pakinomist
Phil Jackson maintains control of the ball as New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony tries to steal it from him during Knicks training camp on September 30, 2014 at Christl Arena at the United States Military Academy in West Point, NY (Robert Sabo/NY Daily News via Getty Images)
Jackson said the mutual separation was largely due to his “broken” relationship with Anthony.
“[Owner James] Dolan said to me, ‘Do you want to be run out of town by the media?’ I said, ‘I know who the media is; it doesn’t affect me,” Jackson wrote, according to the New York Post. “But Dolan felt it was too much. He said, ‘I don’t want you to go through that. I know what it’s like to deal with these people’. I said, ‘Unfortunately, my relationship with Carmelo is kind of broken, and if he’s going to be here, it’s probably best that I go’.”
Jackson also said he approached Dolan with the idea of trading Anthony because “we’re not going to win a championship. Carmelo wants a championship; he wants to be on a team that has a chance, and he should be; he’s a Hall of Famer.”
New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony controls the ball against Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love in the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden. (Brad Penner/USA Today Sports)
LEADING FORMER NBA STAR GILBERT ARENAS DENIES SNITCHING IN LATEST GAMBLING SCHEDULE
Much of the drama came between Jackson’s insistence on running the triangle offense that fueled both the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers dynasties, which Anthony would not be a part of.
“[Former head coach Jeff] Hornacek said Carmelo wanted the ball,” Jackson said.
Anthony eventually waived his no-trade clause to join the Oklahoma City Thunder three months after Jackson left the Knicks. It remains his last job in the NBA. Jackson wanted to buy out Anthony’s contract, but ownership declined.
Lakers head coach Phil Jackson walks off the court after being swept by the Mavericks in Game 4 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals in Dallas. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Jackson also ended up getting into a highly publicized drama with Kristaps Porziņģis, who was the first player Jackson selected in the draft as Knicks general manager.
