NEW YORK - Phil Jackson made the task of turning around a moribund franchise sound so easy.
On stage with the orange-and blue New York Knicks logo looming behind him, all 6 feet 8 inches of him looked calm and full of confidence as he was introduced as the team’s new president. Looking trim in a dark suit, he spoke casually, without notes, and said his goal was to reignite the city’s love for the Knicks, a 1970s feeling he remembers fondly, and recreate a close-knit team that plays well and wins titles.
But in time, he said. It will take time.
At that very moment it was nearly impossible not to glance at James L. Dolan, the impatient, often impetuous Knicks owner who sat on the stage to Jackson’s right. Shoulders slumped and jacket gaping open, Dolan looked every bit Jackson’s opposite on Tuesday.
Dolan spoke first, reading from a sheet of paper as he welcomed back Jackson, who won two championships with the Knicks in the 1970s. He awkwardly joked that Jackson would let him play if the team were ahead by 30 points. Atone point, he dropped the line “if this doesn’t go well” when he was talking about their new partnership. Which was not exactly funny, considering things haven’t gone well for the Knicks basically since Dolan took over 15 years ago.
The bright spot was that Dolan appeared to have already embraced the role of sidekick to Jackson, the sheriff who has come to clean up this aimless team. Let us all hope that those roles remain that way.
With his poor decision-making, Dolan has driven his once-proud franchise into a brick wall again and again. And he must know - or should know - that his mismanagement has been considered a betrayal of a great public trust for all of those fans who have loved the Knicks through those years.
On Tuesday, even after being burned by Dolan and his team again and again, Knicks fans all across the city quite possibly burst into applause.
In his first news conference in more than seven years, Dolan said he was relieved to hand over control to Jackson because he is “by no means an expert in basketball.” And he finally acknowledged something nearly every Knicks fan already knew: “I think I’m a little out of my element when it comes to the team.”
When asked if he would step aside to let Jackson run things without meddling, Dolan said, “Willfully and gratefully.”
But is this all a tease? A cruel ruse to sell expensive tickets to watch Dolan’s subpar product?
Unfortunately, the only way forward for Knicks fans is to believe that Dolan is telling the truth. They must trust his word, no matter how hard that seems, and they must put their faith in Jackson, who has 13 NBA championships on his résumé.
“We ask for your support,” Jackson said, and anyone who wants the franchise to succeed should give it.
Fans should try to put aside the memories of the Jackson-led Chicago Bulls breaking their hearts year after year in the ’90s - the last time the Knicks were part of the fabric of the city. They should listen to Jackson and give him a little time to wipe the grime off the franchise and prove that it can still shine.
To do that, Jackson said, the Knicks will have to resort to simplicity. The team would focus on fundamentals, like the long-lost art of footwork and the oft-forgotten art of passing to teammates. He said he would have to “work the bushes” for players in the next few years because the Knicks have traded away most of their top draft picks.
Listening to Jackson, it seemed possible - simple even - that the Knicks could rebuild themselves into something that fans could consider safe to fall in love with again. In a way only Jackson, the Zen master, can do, he made the Knicks’ success seem dependent on everyone in the city buying in - Dolan, the fans, even the news media. He understands the concept that the Knicks and the city would work better as one, as they did when he won championships here as a player in 1970 and ‘73.
Jackson said he was reminded of that last year, during the anniversary celebration of the 1973 championship team. He gathered with many former teammates and reminisced. They all remembered the magic. That played a part, he said, in him coming to the team this week.
“There’s no better place to win than New York City,” he said. “It’s something special.”
Tell us, Phil Jackson, what it’s like. It has been so long since the Knicks have won that this city has forgotten what to cheer for.
Sports, Pages 20 on 03/20/2014