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NBA -- Phil Jackson is neither a Pat Riley nor a Chuck Daly By Ralph Rimpell PhilBoxing.com Fri, 25 Mar 2016  Sometime in 1996, I called sports talk radio station WFAN in New York city to try and make an argument with sports show host Russ Salzberg that Phil Jackson, then coach of the Chicago Bulls, was not one of the best NBA coaches ever. But since Jackson at the time already had five NBA championships to his resume, Salzberg would not entertain any argument and left me with a dial tone. Since then, Jackson has won six more championships, making him the most successful coach in NBA history and all of professional sports. Phil Jackson joined the Chicago Bulls in 1987 as an assistant to Doug Collins. When Collins was fired in 1989, Jackson was elevated to head coach. Jackson inherited the best player in the league, Michael Jordan, and ended up with great supporting cast members that included Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant, John Paxson, Bill Cartwright, among others. Jackson needed only to tweak that team and the Bulls became champions many times over. When Jordan retired for two seasons (93-94 and 94-95) the Bulls didn?t win another NBA title until Jordan came back for the 95-96 season. Jordan then led the Bulls to three more championships until his second retirement in 96-97 season. Meanwhile, Jackson?s contract with the Chicago Bulls expired and he took a year off before moving on to coach the LA Lakers. Like the Chicago Bulls, the LA Lakers had two superstars, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O?Neil, as well as great supporting cast members. As he did with the mighty Bulls, Jackson tweaked the Lakers and produced five championships during his Hollywood tenure. After leaving Los Angeles, his return to coaching was placed in doubt due to health concerns. But there were rumors that he was ?hot? to coach the Oklahoma City Thunder, a team with two superstars --- Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook --- and a good supporting cast. OKC was a team that had already been to the NBA Finals and came up short. For Jackson, calling the shots for the Thunder represented a perfect opportunity to win an unprecedented 12th NBA championship as a coach. For whatever reason, however, that job never materialized and Jackson instead took on the job as president of basketball operations for the New York Knicks, a task that mirrored Pat Riley's in Miami. Unlike Riley, though, Jackson has yet to find success as an executive. Like Jackson, Riley inherited superstars when he took over the Lakers after the firing of Paul Westhead in the early 80s. After Riley?s tenure in LA was over he became coach of the Knicks. He had one superstar, Patrick Ewing. With the exception of Charles Oakley, the Knicks did not have a great supporting cast. Riley built that team with players like Derek Harper, Charles Smith, along with unproven players such as John Starks, and Anthony Mason all the way to an NBA championship appearance. The late Chuck Daly?s tenure was over with the Pistons at the end of the 1991-1992 season whom he guided to three NBA finals appearance, two of which they won. The following year he coached the New Jersey Nets, turning the team into a contender that made the playoffs in each of the two years he was there. each year. When Daly coached Orlando, the Magic had only one star and was plagued with many injuries, Still, Daly guided them to .500 win percentage in his maiden year. The second season the Magic made the playoffs. The point is in comparison to Pat Riley and Chuck Daly, Phil Jackson has never really inherited a losing team until now as an overpaid underperforming executive, a job which he has no prior experience. The teams he has coached in the past were always on the threshold of winning, up until the time when Kobe Bryant started declining physically. Didn?t anyone tell Knicks owner Jim Dolan these key facts about Phil Jackson? No one can take Jackson?s past success away from him with the Chicago Bulls and LA Lakers, but as President of the New York Knicks, he has failed miserably thus far trying to emulate Pat Riley?s model with the Miami Heat. Riley pulls the strings from behind the scenes as president and head coach Spoelstra does as he is told. Jackson?s model (previously Fisher and now Rambis as coach) as he pulls the ?Triangle? strings from the background hasn?t worked. Jackson?s drafting of Kristaps Porzingis was not a brilliant move, but rather a smart move. Porzingis was the best player available so he was drafted by the Knicks. Jackson should not have been given the current job with the Knicks for 12 million a year for five years because like Riley or Daley he has not proven that he could turn a losing organization into a winner. Riley and Daley on the other hand have done that with other organizations. This is why Riley has thrived as the resident of the Heat and after Daly?s tenure with the Magic he became a consultant for NBA team(s). There are good coaches and executives on the NBA market that could have been hired to manage the Knicks for a fraction of the money given to Jackson and his coach Derek Fisher. Did anyone tell Mr. Dolan those key facts as well? Mark Jackson or Jeff Van Gundy either would have made excellent coaches. The only way Phil Jackson can turn this around is by coaching the Knicks next season for 2016-2017. Coaching is what he is known for. He can hire a true hands-on executive for the day to day duties while he coaches the Knicks. When he almost coached the Thunder he didn?t cite any medical issues. Can he do a better job than Fisher or Rambis coaching the Knicks? Can he attract future free agents Kevin Durant or Rajon Rondo to the Knicks? These are the type of players he has had on his past championship teams that he will needto get New Yorkers fantasizing about a championship run. Can he guide the future Knicks of 2016-2017 to a 50 win season and deep into the playoffs? This writer does not believe Phil Jackson can do that. This is what I would have predicted if Russ Salzberg would have given me an opportunity to discuss over the air back in 1996. It?s debatable that Jackson is a great Coach. Jackson at best is a very good coach under the right circumstances. Turning a losing team into a winning team is part of what makes a coach great. Phil Jackson has yet to do that. That is why Phil Jackson is no Pat Riley or Chuck Daly. Contact Writer: RLuvsboxing@aol.com Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ralph Rimpell.  |
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