Phil Jackson was brought aboard the New York Knicks a month ago with the promise from team owner James Dolan that the legendary coach would have the floor. It was going to be on Jackson to make all of the basketball decisions.
Knicks owner James Dolan reportedly meddling with Phil Jackson’s decisions
According to a report, James Dolan is attempting to stop newly-hired executive Phil Jackson from firing Knicks employees.
Maddie Meyer
Already, sources of the New York Daily News tell the paper that Dolan and Jackson have gone through a minor disagreement over the new president’s “personnel decisions.” When Jackson decided to make several firings, Dolan reportedly told his newly-appointed hire to “focus his attention on building a winning team.”
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It's unclear who Jackson was apparently going to fire or what role these people played. The New York Daily News surmises that Jackson could be attempting to fire employees from the front office -- general manager Steve Mills or assistant general manager Allan Houston are still on board -- as well as in the media relations department or the Knicks' medical staff.
Jackson made his first big moves as president this week when he fired head coach Mike Woodson and the rest of the coaching staff.
And while the report over Dolan’s meddling is still vague, it does raise old concerns about the owner. He was known to have a say in the front office decision-making over the last several seasons, for better and often times for worse. Bringing in Jackson gave legitimacy to the basketball operations staff in New York, but if Dolan is still having the last word on personnel decisions, it likely won’t bode well for his relationship with Jackson or for the Knicks’ future success.
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