Phil Jackson knows who he’d take with the No. 1 pick

The Knicks’ terrible year is less than two weeks from completion, which has to please everyone associated with the team. After all, this season recently became the worst in franchise history a few days ago and they can still fall even further in their remaining games.

The worst record does mean the Knicks have the best shot at the No. 1 overall pick in this summer’s NBA Draft. In an event for Knicks season ticket holders Thursday night, Phil Jackson said he knew who he would pick if the Knicks won the lottery, but declined to reveal who it was.

Two centers -- Duke’s Jahlil Okafor and Kentucky’s Karl-Anthony Towns -- are widely considered the top two options.

“A first draft pick can move the whole organization,” Jackson said at the event, per the New York Times. “Patrick Ewing did in the early ‘80s. We want to see if that player is the one who can move the whole franchise ahead.”

Speculation will run rampant, though, after he reportedly slipped and said “Okafor” when he was trying to refer to Michael Olowokandi, the 1998 No. 1 NBA pick who is regarded as one of the league’s biggest busts. Jackson also said he valued defense over offense for players who play centers.

With about 300 ticket holders in attendance, Jackson had to have some sort of positive outlook. He blamed the media for putting too much attention on whether the triangle offense could work.

“I would have never thought that something like this could happen,” Jackson said. “The season became convoluted because everybody wanted to discuss the triangle and how the triangle was going to perform.”

Jackson said this season may go down as a “godsend” for the Knicks.

“We knew we were going to have to take this team apart to get to where we want to go,” he said.