How is Phil Jackson’s summer goink? Not very well

Phil Jackson is finally out in New York. James Dolan reportedly spent Tuesday night doing some soul searching, and by the morning, MSG drafted a statement saying that the two “mutually agreed” to let Phil go.

A few months ago, Dolan publicly committed to keeping Jackson for the final two years of his contract. So why the change of heart? Dolan was privately worried for a while and grew even more concerned after the Kristaps Porzingis trade saga, according to Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski. Despite insisting to the very end that he wouldn’t get involved in the team’s basketball operations, Dolan appeared to finally see reality.

What now for the Knicks? Good question. Dolan is pursuing long-admired adversary Masai Ujiri for the job, but Ujiri just received a promotion in Toronto. David Griffin is out there, but will he want to work for Dolan after his difficult breakup with Dan Gilbert? Maybe, maybe not. Steve Mills is in charge now, so maybe a promotion is in order? We’ll see soon.

We’ll have plenty of time to dissect the ramifications of Jackson’s departure, especially as they relate to Carmelo Anthony, Porzingis, Jeff Hornacek, the Knicks’ dwindling reputation with free agents, and Phil’s beloved Triangle. But all that will come in time. There’s goink to be a lot to discuss.

Be sure to check out Posting and Toasting, which is all over this news.

The Phil news overshadowed two major free-agent developments.

First, the Celtics are attempting to pull off a daring double swoop: Sign Gordon Hayward with cap space and trade assets for Paul George. It’s technically possible, and because it is, we should consider the threat serious. There are all sorts of ways for the Celtics to order their transactions to do it, but it probably means saying goodbye to two of Jae Crowder, Avery Bradley, and Marcus Smart.

Less likely: The Rockets’ plans to sign Chris Paul. Paul is intrigued, and James Harden is reportedly the biggest advocate for getting a deal done even if Paul will take the ball out of his hands. But the Rockets will need to clear between $20-25 million off their payroll to carve out enough space to offer Paul a maximum contract. Can they find anyone to take Ryan Anderson’s three years and $61.3 million off their books? Good luck. Even if they do, they’d also likely need to move Patrick Beverley elsewhere, though his market should be more robust. The Jazz make a lot of sense for Beverley.

Dirk Nowitzki had no idea he’d win Teammate of the Year. He thought he was only coming to the awards show to present the Most Improved Player honor.

Michael Jordan congratulated Russell Westbrook’s MVP season as only MJ can: with passive-aggressive self-aggrandizement disguised as grace.

Woj (and Bobby Marks) to ESPN is now official. July 1 is one heck of a start date.

Thanks for letting me fill (Phil?) in this week. Tom returns soon. Until then, be good to each other.