JIM: JUST SAY NO TO JAX
Someone =
please explain=20
to me Mark Jackson's credentials to be the next head coach of the=20
Knicks.
Yes, he's a New York City kid, a St. John's guy, a great NBA =
point=20
guard, knows the game inside-out and has been a talented broadcaster. =
All of=20
that is true. But please tell me how does that guarantee that he will be =
a good=20
head coach? Shouldn't the Knicks look for someone with, say, coaching=20
experience?
What a concept!
Hey, if the Knicks want Jackson and =
Jackson=20
wants the Knicks, fine. Make him an assistant coach. He can see the=20
innerworkings of coaching for a year, two or three, and maybe by then =
the time=20
will be right to elevate him.
Oh, I can hear Knicks fans squirming. =
You want=20
him as coach. I've read the message boards. He is exactly what the =
Knicks need=20
in their next coach, you say. That doesn't make sense to me. Why is he =
above=20
having to pay his dues? Isn't the risk for complete failure pretty big =
here,=20
considering his zero years of coaching experience?
Jackson has =
already been=20
passed up. Last year Reggie Miller complained on WFAN that the Pacers =
didn't=20
give him a look when they were looking for a coach, and St. John's never =
considered him in 2003 when he wanted that job.
Who knows? Maybe =
Jackson=20
will someday be a great NBA coach.
But I'd like to see him earn the=20
opportunity by coaching somewhere else instead of have it handed it to =
him.
ANTHONY: JAX WOULD BE GREAT P.R.
Jim, you're =
missing the=20
point about the next Knicks coach.
The only way for the Knicks to =
become a=20
championship contender is to stink for the next 2-3 years so they can =
get under=20
the cap and sign LeBron James when he becomes an unrestricted free =
agent. So the=20
coach for the next 2-3 years can't be judged on wins and losses, but =
rather on=20
how he erases the funky stench of the Isiah Thomas years and restores =
some=20
semblance of pride to MSG.
Jackson is a smart guy, a smooth operator =
type=20
guy, and a former very good point guard. Sounds a lot like Isiah, no, =
except=20
that Isiah was a former great point guard.
But the difference is that =
Jackson=20
isn't going to have power over personnel like Isiah did. He's just going =
to=20
coach the (lousy) players Donnie Walsh gets for him. He'll be the face =
of the=20
franchise in a good way, just as Thomas and Stephon Marbury were the =
faces of=20
the franchise in a very bad way. He'll be good P.R. for an organization =
that=20
needs it.
Jackson may learn from his mistakes over those 2-3 woeful =
seasons=20
so he can be a top-flight coach by the time LeBron signs on. Or he might =
not.=20
Doesn't matter. When LeBron is ready to sign up, he's going to pick the =
coach=20
anyway.
Until then, Mark Jackson is the only choice that makes sense. =
***
What do you think, Knicks fans? Should it be Mark Jackson, or =
should=20
it be someone else? Let us know.
Thanks to nba.com for the photo from =
1987.
Comments (1)
I think it would be a great hire. Make Mark Jackson head coach, bring = in Herb=20 and Patrick for asst coaches. Charles Oakley in charge of player = development=20 just in case, Zach, Nate, Marbur get out of hand he'll slap them back = into=20 place. Xavier McDaniels as the trainer.. Your hurt Jerome James.. We = have a=20 boxing gym back here, come over here and get a beating.
It would be a great hire.