It's not surprising that Phil Jackson took the job with the Knicks, but he better be careful. The Knicks have been a sink-hole for coaches and GMs for a long time. Some pretty credible coaches have not fared well. Dolan, the owner, will still have the last word, and I worry that any man who thought/thinks Isiah Thomas was a brainy GM, could, on a whim, sabotage Phil.
As for personnel, Phil Jackson will sort that out, as he will the coaching situation. I bet he'll bring in a new staff right away, before the draft. As for players: JR Smith and Martin are a knuckle-heads and should be gone. Tim Hardaway Jr.has a great future. Tyson Chandler can still be a shot blocker and presence in the paint. Felton and Prigioni? Lack inspiration, but could stay on as solid backups. The Knicks need a true point guard with imagination and intelligence. Amare Stodemire could be a productive power forward, but he can't seem to get Steve Nash and the pick and roll out of his consciousness and he's constantly injured. Shumpart? Perhaps in the Triangle could blossom. All the rest of the bench should seek employment elsewhere.
That leaves Carmelo????? I don't see how he isn't the best scoring 3 in the business. Whether that's enough for Phil to keep him, who knows. Chicago sure wants him. Carmelo and Chandler for Noah? What a post player in the Triangle Noah would be. I worry that Carmelo is psychically damaged and can not change from a ball-stopper to a ball-mover. Carmelo reminds me of a poor man and his attitude toward food. You got to get as much on your plate as you can. You never know if the bowl of grits will come around the table again.
Anyhow, Phil Jackson will figure it out. The Knicks organization need someone with strong instincts way more than they need an X's and O's guy. Phil's bball instincts are razor-sharp.
Think of it Phil - Museums, Broadway plays, opera, ballet, real deli, and a penthouse overlooking Central Park. What a way to close out a Hall of Fame career.
You taking this challenge,when you certainly don't need any more fame reminds me of Ulysses in his old age exhorting his aged men to go on a last adventure with him.
"How dull it is to pause, to make an end.
To rust unburnished, not to shine in use,
As though to breathe were life."
Good Luck, Phil.
After Meditating by Tom Meschery from Sweat: New and Selected Poems about Sports
For Phil Jackson
I return to your book, Sacred Hoops
and think, perhaps you've discovered
the secret to the modern game,
the centered-self each player can achieve
with right-breathing, as if the soul
were a tight muscle in need of stretching.
Team mantras, spiritual championships
If only I'd known
I didn't have to throw that elbow
at LaRusso or stalk Chet Walker
or take a swing at Wilt,
while my breathless teammates
feared for my life.
All I had to do was breathe
my way out of anger.
Lungs instead of fists.
What my musings are all about...
Blogging might well be the 21st century's form of journaling. As a writing teacher, I have always advised my students to keep a daily journal as a way of organizing their thoughts for future writing projects, a discipline I have unfortunately never consistently practiced myself. By blogging, I might finally be able to follow my own good advice.
The difference between journaling and blogging is that the blogger opens his or her writing to the public, something journal- writers are usually reluctant to do. I am not so reticent.
The trick for me will be to avoid cluttering the internet with more blather, something none of us need more of. If I stick to subjects I know: sports and literature, I believe I can avoid that pitfall. I can't promise that I'll not stray from time to time to comment on ancillary subjects, but I will make every attempt to be interesting and perhaps even insightful.
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
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