Over the years, the New York Knicks have developed the reputation as being one of the most poorly run franchises in the league.
Much of this has stemmed from team owner James Dolan, who has received his fair share of criticism over that span. With that in mind, Dolan recently told Ian Begley of ESPN that he has no involvement in the decision-making process concerning the roster as team president Phil Jackson holds full control over that responsibility.
Knicks owner James Dolan maintains that he's not involved in basketball decisions. “No, no,” Dolan said when asked during an appearance on Fox 5 if he's engaged in basketball decisions surrounding the Knicks. “It's all Phil (Jackson, Knicks team president). It's all Steve (Mills, Knicks general manager)…. I'm working on my music, they're working on the basketball team,” Dolan, who in the past has been hands-on in Knicks basketball decisions, said on Fox 5 that people ask him all the time about the Knicks. His response? “Ask Phil.” The Knicks have missed the playoffs in each of Jackson's three full seasons as team president and have made the playoffs just four times in the last 16 years under Dolan.
Jackson has been in control of the team since March 2014 while completing the third year of his five-year, $60 million deal with the team. The Knicks are expected to pick up the option for the fourth year of the contract.
That said, New York has struggled to find any type of consistent success under Jackson's command. The team has lost at least 50 games in the regular season while failing to reach the playoffs in each campaign. In fact, they have finished no greater than third place in the Atlantic division while compiling an 80-166 overall record.
Jackson has plenty of major decision-making ahead of him this offseason that begins with holding the eighth overall pick in this year's draft followed by addressing their interest in bringing back Derrick Rose, who is set to become an unrestricted agent this upcoming summer.
There is also the looming cloud of Carmelo Anthony‘s future with the team as Jackson has stated a few times that the All-Star forward is best served to play somewhere else. Anthony has two years left on his five-year, $124.1 million deal.
With Dolan further distancing himself from Jackson, if things continue to go south next season he could find himself out of a job on the open market.
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