After winning 13 championships as a player and head coach, there was great optimism when Phil Jackson was introduced as the President of the New York Knicks during the 2013-14 NBA season. However, Jackson was fired shortly after the 2017 NBA Draft as the team failed to make the playoffs during his tenure.

With the Knicks firing Jackson and trading Carmelo Anthony, they have embraced a full rebuilding process around Kristaps Porzingis. Despite being one of the pleasant surprises of the season, Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton revealed his thoughts about Jackson's firing according to Marc Berman of New York Post:

“Someone who means as much to me as Phil does — I’m not in favor of [his firing] happening,’’ Walton said before the Knicks’ 113-109 overtime win over the Lakers on Tuesday. “But coaching on the West Coast I’m not around to see how and why everything played out the way it did.”

In addition, Walton recently reached out to arguably the greatest head coach of all time for advice:

“I still reach out to him,’’ Walton said. “I talked to Phil two weeks ago with some questions I had for him. He gave me good advice.

During their time together in Los Angeles, Jackson and Walton won two championships together. As they have developed a lifetime bond and Walton uses his former head coach's philosophies, it is understandable why he has this stance.

During Jackson's time in New York, much of the conversation was about his relationship with Anthony as well as trying to implement the triangle offense. Although there was not much success, the 13-time champion deserves credit for selecting Porzingis with the fourth overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.