Mark Jackson, come on down. You’re the next contestant on “Whose name will be thrown into the New York Knicks’ head coaching rumor mill?”
Congratulations.
Here’s Tommy Dee for SNY.TV:
Phil Jackson has called on one of New York’s own to gauge interest in guiding the team’s rebuilding process from the sidelines. A source close to the situation told me on Monday that Jackson has reached out to former Golden State Warriors head coach and Knicks point guard Mark Jackson to discuss the Knicks head coaching position.
In what was termed a “generic initial discussion,” the Knicks president is exploring several options and plans on interviewing more than a few candidates for the position including Mark Jackson, the former St. John’s grad and 1987 Rookie of the Year. Mark Jackson currently is an analyst with ESPN.
I reached out to the Knicks for a comment, but they had not heard anything about this conversation.
This rumor was almost immediately dismissed by the New York Daily News‘ Frank Isola:
A person close to Mark Jackson dismissed an internet report that the Knicks had contacted the former Knicks guard. "Not true."
— Frank Isola (@TheFrankIsola) April 12, 2016
Source close to Mark Jackson said he would never speak to team that already has a head coach working. "That tells you all you need to know."
— Frank Isola (@TheFrankIsola) April 12, 2016
Look, this is what happens whenever a high-profile coaching gig is open: Names are dropped, dissected, then refuted. Rinse, rather, repeat.
If there’s anything to take away from Mark Jackson’s name, or even the appearance of David Blatt in the rumor mill, it’s that maybe Phil Jackson is willing to journey off his triangle path in the search for a new coach. That’s a good thing.
Neither Blatt nor Jackson—especially Jackson—is the ideal fit for this team or for the brutal New York market in general. But hey, if even a couple of the latest rumblings are true or half-true, the Zen Master is making progress by default, displaying an open mind, feigned or not, that begins to suggest Kurt Rambis’ return to the sidelines isn’t the ironclad formality we all thought it was.
And judging from how the Knicks played under Rambis to close out 2015-16, that most definitely is a good thing.
