Report: James Dolan already has Phil Jackson's replacement in mind
The New York Knicks have been a terrible basketball team since Phil Jackson became their president in 2014. They were even worse before he arrived, but the highlight of Jackson's tenure is being fortunate enough to select Kristaps Porzingis with the fourth overall pick in last June's draft.
That's where the good vibes on his resume end. Besides Porzingis, Jackson has done very little to turn the Knicks around and make their present or future any brighter than it was before he arrived.
But things can always get worse in New York, and they almost definitely will if Jackson has his way and appoints Kurt Rambis as the Knicks full-time head coach. There is no universe where this is a smart decision, but Knicks owner James Dolan -- of all people -- is still in a position to save the day (via New York Daily News):
If Dolan rejects Jackson’s recommendation, there could be chaos and crisis at the home office. To Dolan’s credit, he is giving himself a safety net for when Jackson’s contract expires in two seasons or if Jackson decides to step away or is fired before his deal runs out. Among the list of potential successors is believed to be Toronto Raptors GM Masai Ujiri, the highly regarded Africa-born executive who has an interesting history with Dolan...So clearly, this falls under the category, “if you can’t beat him, hire him.” It’s also worth noting that Ujiri was originally brought to Toronto by Tim Leiweke, former CEO of Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) and Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE). Leiweke has since left Toronto and has started a business with Azoff. There’s that man again.
You know things are dark when James Dolan says "let's takes a minute and think this over." This is the same person who's most responsible for New York basketball plunging into a deep depression, and even he realizes that hiring Rambis is unconscionable.
What most stands out from this report, though, is Dolan's interest in Toronto Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri -- one of the smartest minds in the league.
Ujiri infamously fleeced Dolan's front office in the Andrea Bargnani trade -- squeezing three draft picks for a player who's worth zero -- and was with the Denver Nuggets when New York so badly wanted Carmelo Anthony.
Back in 2013, Dolan scrapped a deal for Kyle Lowry out of fear that Ujiri would make him look bad once again. Ujiri remains under contract for another two years with Toronto, and is the architect behind the Eastern Conference's second-best team, a sleeping giant that could very well become one of the NBA's premier organizations sooner than later.
To leave that job so he can put out Dolan's continuous dumpster fire doesn't sound very appealing. And so, in the end, New York is probably stuck with Jackson. And with Jackson, apparently, it's also stuck with Rambis.
