As the New York Knicks wait for Phil Jackson to make up his mind about taking their large sums of money, Carmelo Anthony’s looming free agency hangs in the balance. Melo would be happy to work with the Zen Master, but says it won’t impact his decision this summer. Per the NY Daily News:
“I still don’t have a lot of the details, all the details. Have I heard? Yeah, I heard he will be coming on board, not official yet,” Anthony said. “You can always use Phil Jackson inside an organization, his philosophy, his mindset, his resume, what he brings to a team, what he brings to an organization. That goes without even saying, so we’ll see how that plays out.
“You can’t take for granted what he knows about the game of basketball, whether he’s on the sideline or in the front office. I’m sure he will try to his best to do what he has to do to try to build a championship team. He knows how to put guys together, put a team together. We’ll see what happens, but I haven’t talked to him, haven’t talked to anyone about the front office about their plans or anything like that.”
The seven-time All-Star added that Jackson – who won 11 NBA titles as a coach with Bulls and the Lakers, and two more as a player with the Knicks in the 1970s – is “definitely going to be (joining) the front office, not coaching, so that’s a big difference.”
“I don’t think it’ll have any effect on me, just as far as what I’m thinking or my decision or anything like that,” Anthony said. “Like I said, I haven’t talked to Phil yet, just to get his insight on a lot of things, what’s his plan, what’s his future plan, because everything’s in his hands now.”
Meanwhile in Los Angeles, Jeanie Buss, Jackson’s finacee and the Executive VP of Business Operations for the Lakers, said, “I don’t comment on another team’s business. It’s not appropriate for me to talk about that.”
Buss, wearing a sweatshirt with NEW YORK across the front while walking her diabetic 11-year old Maltese in a stroller outside her house, said “of course, I wouldn’t stop” Jackson if we went to the Knicks. “It’s his decision to make. They have to make … He’s a popular guy.”
“It’s my favorite sweatshirt. No, it’s not my business to comment on this.”
