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JM: You, Popovich and Pat Riley are the most decorated coaches of your generation. What separates Riley?
PJ: Pat has a terrific sense of what he wants to do. Now that I’m president, I have to read all this stuff about the league. Usually it’s ‘delete, delete, delete.’ But I noticed there was something about D-Wade (Dwyane Wade) and Pat’s communication breaking down the other day. I wondered about that. I found it surprising.
JM: It all started when LeBron left, right? Could you have ever imagined Earvin Johnson leaving Riley, or Michael Jordan leaving you?
PJ: It had to hurt when they lost LeBron. That was definitely a slap in the face. But there were a lot of little things that came out of that. When LeBron was playing with the Heat, they went to Cleveland and he wanted to spend the night. They don’t do overnights. Teams just don’t. So now (coach Erik) Spoelstra has to text Riley and say, ‘What do I do in this situation?’ And Pat, who has iron-fist rules, answers, ‘You are on the plane, you are with this team.’ You can’t hold up the whole team because you and your mom and your posse want to spend an extra night in Cleveland.
I always thought Pat had this really nice vibe with his guys. But something happened there where it broke down. I do know LeBron likes special treatment. He needs things his way.
Look, I think this “posse” thing is distracting from the real issue here.
Yes, Maverick and Lebron have every right to call Phil out. I don’t believe he wasn’t using the term “posse” to be racist, and I think Maverick and Lebron understand that. What he was doing, however, was discrediting Maverick as a businessman by referring to him as a “posse-member” rather than a business partner. And with that comes certain racial connotations. Was it intentional? I don’t know. But as the subject of Phil’s remarks, Maverick and Lebron have every right to comment on the matter and call Phil out on his terminology. As well as to make it known that, while they understand that Phil may not have previously known posse could be construed as racist or disparaging, people in the black community take offense to the connotations of the word in reference to people who want to be viewed and addressed for who they are – legitimate business people.
Rather than everyone else getting confrontational about it, let’s all just chill out. Look at it with a little rationality and empathy. Instead of screaming “THAT’S RACIST! THAT’S RACIST!”, maybe take a second to realize that and old white guy probably had no idea the word could be construed like that. And instead of screaming “HOW IS THAT EVEN RACIST??”, maybe take a second to empathize with the fact that Maverick has probably had to deal with a lot of people attempting to delegitimize his business acumen over the years. Getting confrontational by screaming “That’s racist” or “How is that racist” does nothing to help the issue.
Everyone just relax about the whole “posse” thing. Take it as a teaching/learning moment and then move on.
All of this has distracted from the real issue at hand.
You know what that issue is? Phil Jackson talking about another player in the media. Phil Jackson talking about ANYTHING in the media right now. Phil Jackson talking in general.
Dude…
It’s not just that Phil is a senile narcissist in regards to the game of basketball. The more and more he talks you start to realize that he’s just a garbage human being. He’s a manipulative rat who’s had no issue airing players and individuals out in the media his entire career. He’s all but admitted to being the source for the Jordan Rules. He aired Kobe’s business out in his own book. He openly gave quotes for a piece on ESPN.com disparaging JR Smith’s “delinquent behavior” and personal issues with his girlfriend at the time. He’s openly at odds with every other well respected coach in NBA history (Pop, Riley, Van Gundy, etc), which is by no means a coincidence. And the only thing more conceited than his outright refusal to abandon the archaic offensive system that clearly does not work in today’s NBA is the time he tried to get away with only coaching Knicks Home Games.
We’re ten games into this season – a season in which a new head coach has been tasked with teaching a roster with 10 new players not only how to play his own system, but also how to play The Triangle. Ten games. Ten games and Phil has already complained through the media… again, through the media rather than in private… that this team with a new head coach and TEN new players has not perfected his system.
And to top it all off, as if the Knicks didn’t need more media attention, he’s now talking in the media about the best player and most important power broker in the league in a disparaging way for absolutely no reason. He wasn’t even asked about Lebron, yet decided he’d shoehorn in a private story just to dump on the guy. That’s garbage. That’s pathetic bullshit that you would never see from Pop, Riley, Van Gundy, or really any coach or GM in this league. It’s honestly mind-boggling to watch.
Go away Phil. Please, for the love of god, just go away. Quit, resign, take your paycheck and go back to L.A. Nothing you’ve done here has worked outside of drafting Kristaps. And we all know you wanted Jahlil Okafer or to trade back for Frank Kaminsky instead. None of your free agency moves have worked. You traded for Derrick Rose without looking into his sexual assault case which very easily could have been an absolute disaster. You gave a five year extension to Melo when every smart basketball person knew the Knicks should’ve let him go and rebuilt. You’ve been selfish and shortsighted in building this team. You signed veterans in an attempt to make the 8th seed in a year with the most loaded draft class since 2003. You’ve collected a group of players this year that make absolutely no sense together. You’ve already undermined the legitimacy of Jeff Hornacek’s position as head coach both by keeping your Triangle crony Kurt Rambis on board and by pushing your own coaching agenda through the media. You’ve ruined your standing with Knicks fans. You’ve ruined your own legacy as a basketball mind. You stink. You stink and we all… every single one of us Knicks fans… want to see you go.
Or at the very least:
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