Will Phil Jackson succeed at the helm of the Knicks’ front office? Bulls executive vice president John Paxson seems to think so, writes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. “Phil is a really smart basketball guy and I have no doubt, given time, he’ll do very well,” said Paxson, who played for Jackson and worked on his staff one season. “I’ve always felt he has a sixth sense about people and it’s one of the reasons he’s been able to blend different personalities into a cohesive unit.”
- Carmelo Anthony told reporters, including Al Iannazzone of Newsday (on Twitter) that the Knicks are looking more attractive now for free agents thanks to the addition of Jackson. Of course, the Knicks are hoping that includes Anthony himself, who will hit the open market this summer.
- Fellow Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown told ESPN Radio’s Mike and Mike that he hopes to see Jackson keep Mike Woodson on the Knicks’ bench, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY. Brown went on to say that next year will be a struggle for New York but they’ll have opportunities after that thanks to cap flexibility (link).
- Metta World Peace was willing to cooperate when Woodson pulled him from the rotation, but he wasn’t OK with being told to tone down his leadership role in the locker room, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. “I didn’t mind playing any role, but I didn’t see myself having a role, not even a leadership role,’’ MWP said. “I was fine with being on the bench, but at times I wanted to help lead. But at times I tried to lead, it was met with resistance. I backed off a little and tried to blend in with the team. I tried to find where I could complement the players but I couldn’t find any room to complement.’’ Meanwhile, the veteran says that he won’t rule out returning to New York.
- Earlier today, Marc Berman of the New York Post reported that Jackson is a fan of Iman Shumpert and it appears that he’ll be in the club’s future plans.