Phil Jackson, a guy who probably owns a lot of books he’s never even opened, has not been having a very good year. Most of his troubles have come in the form of off-court shenanigans, but let’s not forget that the Knicks’ on-court product has also blown up in his face this season.
The Knicks won 32 games last season, and were headed into this one with Kristaps Porzingis rising into stardom and Carmelo Anthony still scoring at a prolific rate. It was reasonable to believe that a few key trades and free-agent signings could have pushed this team into playoff contention. Jackson gathered some reinforcements—big names Joakim Noah, Derrick Rose, and Brandon Jennings.
Jackson traded Robin Lopez, Jerian Grant, and Jose Calderon for Rose. Then he spent the trade deadline trying and failing to trade him. Now, this:
Noah was signed to a four-year, $72 million contract. He limped through 22 minutes per game before being shut down for the rest of the season today:
And what about Brandon Jennings?
The Knicks are currently 24-35. On the bright side, Courtney Lee is having a pretty good season!