Could Phil Jackson/Steve Mills be this dumb

When I first heard this in late June that Lemarcus Aldridge cancelled his Knicks meeting because of the Knicks wanting to play him exclusively at the 5, I said it had to be BS because you would think with the weak position the Knicks were in to sign top tier FA's they would tell LMA he could play any position he wanted and the Knicks would make it work.

Now you hear from LMA on ESPN radio that this was indeed true, the Knicks told him they wanted him to be their full time center and that's why they didn't meet. Granted the Knicks would have been a long shot to sign him even if they wanted to use him at the 4 but I've questioned PJ's ability as an executive and this incident with LMA makes me even more skeptical of him.

tiger the answer to that question so far has to be YES.... you would think that phil would have done a better job so far, but as I said, he is A HOF coach.. maybe this GM gig is going to need some working on...

The author of the article actually likes PJAx approach but I don't get it. So an unproven rookie can come in and be allowed the freedom to "stretch the floor", But Aldrich, a proven vet is given the Center or else ultimatum. Hmmmm. that's what I'm talking about the "euro" double-standard. Aldrich saw through that mess right away and picked a winner instead. Another great job Phil

Nothing wrong with wanting LA to play C but I don't think it matters. LA was never ever coming here.

jimkcchief88 said:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/way-phil-jackson-spurned-nbas-152241922.html

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Must have been Phil Jackson's nephew that wrote that article. Don't sign LMA because if you play him at PF his natural position he can't play with Melo, the guy probably wrote Lebron, Bosh and Wade wouldn't work because all of them needed the ball in their hands yet they went to 4 NBA finals.

Only thing I agree with in that article is the Knicks are not making the playoffs next year. 34 wins max next year.

Coming off of a great 3 week vacation in the South away from Knicks news .. before i left i read an article on LaMarcus Aldridge camp speaking on LMA none interest with the Lakers were not about Kobe, and LMA cancel meeting with Knicks were bc both teams Lakers & Knicks wanting LMA as their starting center for next season .. Kupchip & Phil jax has been sabortaging big (sold-out) franchise Lakers/Knicks with their old age foolish moves in offseason.

The Lakers or Knicks signing LaMarcus Aldridge early in the offseason would've hyped up another elite FA to join the team to become a big-3 playoff team.
In the Knicks past decade all Knicks-Fans should know by now (after Layden/Isiah/Walsh) when a GM is sabortaging a team.
For every one good player added to the roster, Knicks GM will add 3 cancer or project-players to the roster.
What FA did $124M Melo recruit to the Knicks in offseason?
Why is Calderon still on the Knicks roster???

The Knicks SL team 3 straight wins were from DEFENSE n more defense, Zingis consistent blockshots gave his teammates energy to play defense on a higher level.
The Knicks SL team showed a young defensive lineup in PG-Grant, SG-Thanis as a big defensive-guard, and SF-Ndour/PF-Zingis two-way hustle performance.
I only watch the Knicks first 3 SL games then I went on vacation.

I didn't read the article, but I imagine it's false. Does anyone really believe Aldridge would have picked the Knicks over the Spurs, especially because of that ultimatum? If that IS true, Aldridge might have looked past that ultimatum and as a veteran just went with it thinking they'd change their mind early on, and switch him to the 4.

I don't agree with premise of the article "PJAx doing it the right way" but you guys are missing the point. The point is Phil can't even get a meeting with top free agents. That's the point. Phil is rookie GM and is already to stubborn to change and top tier free agents ain't going for it. I have seen this bad movie before in KC when rookie GM Scott Pioli brought rookie coach Todd Haley to and the stubborn "Patriot our Way or the Highway" to my Chiefs. Problem was the NFL is a players league like the NBA and Tom Brady is still in New England.

RunningJumper said:

I didn't read the article, but I imagine it's false. Does anyone really believe Aldridge would have picked the Knicks over the Spurs, especially because of that ultimatum? If that IS true, Aldridge might have looked past that ultimatum and as a veteran just went with it thinking they'd change their mind early on, and switch him to the 4.

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For years no one expected the Spurs to offer max money to any FA ..
LaMarcus Aldridge were probably more suprise by the Spurs offer in mid July then anyone.
I believe the last FA players the Spurs gave big money to were Mark Jackson and Rodman.

Phil & Mill has not been to bright the last two offseasons, there's no optimism of having a .500 season in their 2015 offseason moves in a weak NBA league, plus being in the weakest conference/division in the league.

jimkcchief88 said:

I don't agree with premise of the article "PJAx doing it the right way" but you guys are missing the point. The point is Phil can't even get a meeting with top free agents. That's the point. Phil is rookie GM and is already to stubborn to change and top tier free agents ain't going for it. I have seen this bad movie before in KC when rookie GM Scott Pioli brought rookie coach Todd Haley to and the stubborn "Patriot our Way or the Highway" to my Chiefs. Problem was the NFL is a players league like the NBA and Tom Brady is still in New England.

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The point is Phil Jax has been acting like a tier-3 or 4 GM, especially when he gave a non-running no-defensive Carmelo Anthony a $124M contract as if Melo took his team to the FINALS once in his 11 year career.
In 2012-13 the Knicks had a interim GM that showed to be 5 times brighter than Phil Jax as a GM when he signed several old-head leadership players, plus a few veteran role-players in the offseason to have a 54 win Knicks season.
What happen? Carmelo's power, attitude, n ballhogging got rid of half the players on the roster the next offseason.
Which made the Knicks start the 2013-14 season off with a 3-13 start, and have a 21-40 record when Phil Jax were hired as the Knicks president. The Knicks went on a 16-5 run with Phil as president to end the 2013-14 season with a 37-45 record.
Phil Jax 2014 offseason moves gave the Knicks a 17-65 record for the 2014-15 season. Thats the POINT!!!

Kiyaman said:

For years no one expected the Spurs to offer max money to any FA ..
LaMarcus Aldridge were probably more suprise by the Spurs offer in mid July then anyone.
I believe the last FA players the Spurs gave big money to were Mark Jackson and Rodman.

Phil & Mill has not been to bright the last two offseasons, there's no optimism of having a .500 season in their 2015 offseason moves in a weak NBA league, plus being in the weakest conference/division in the league.

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I agree with you Kiya, I'm not optimistic about a .500 season or the playoffs but a lot of people are optimistic about what the Knicks are doing in building a team with lunch pail guys. The Knicks didn't have the wrong approach in going after "STARS", they just made terrible deals in pursuing guys like Stat and Bargnani that most teams wouldn't touch or in giving away the farm in getting Melo from Denver.

PJ is taking a different approach but I've been less then thrilled with the players he's brought in. Only positive about this team PJ has put together is they maybe so bad that Melo asks for a trade mid season and the Knicks can really start a rebuild.

tiger0330 said:

I agree with you Kiya, I'm not optimistic about a .500 season or the playoffs but a lot of people are optimistic about what the Knicks are doing in building a team with lunch pail guys. The Knicks didn't have the wrong approach in going after "STARS", they just made terrible deals in pursuing guys like Stat and Bargnani that most teams wouldn't touch or in giving away the farm in getting Melo from Denver.

PJ is taking a different approach but I've been less then thrilled with the players he's brought in. Only positive about this team PJ has put together is they maybe so bad that Melo asks for a trade mid season and the Knicks can really start a rebuild.

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bingo!!! and that right there is the only thing that matters.. but here is the other problem.. that could have been accomplished by adding cheaper and younger players... the thought of paying lopez 54 mil just gets me ill!!

Kiyaman said:

The point is Phil Jax has been acting like a tier-3 or 4 GM, especially when he gave a non-running no-defensive Carmelo Anthony a $124M contract as if Melo took his team to the FINALS once in his 11 year career.
In 2012-13 the Knicks had a interim GM that showed to be 5 times brighter than Phil Jax as a GM when he signed several old-head leadership players, plus a few veteran role-players in the offseason to have a 54 win Knicks season.
What happen? Carmelo's power, attitude, n ballhogging got rid of half the players on the roster the next offseason.
Which made the Knicks start the 2013-14 season off with a 3-13 start, and have a 21-40 record when Phil Jax were hired as the Knicks president. The Knicks went on a 16-5 run with Phil as president to end the 2013-14 season with a 37-45 record.
Phil Jax 2014 offseason moves gave the Knicks a 17-65 record for the 2014-15 season. Thats the POINT!!!

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well part of that may be true, I agree, but guys like kidd, and wallace and KT, were just short term fixes.. kidd got off to a great start and his leadership had a huge impact on the knicks.. guys like JR smith had a good start to the season.. but in the end, older bodies( NBA old) tend to break down, and that is what happened to kidd and wallace, etc.. they broke down and the knicks were just not the same team... that team had a very short shelf life, barely a season, lucky if they could carry that to the post season.. and they couldn't...

Tkf said:

bingo!!! and that right there is the only thing that matters.. but here is the other problem.. that could have been accomplished by adding cheaper and younger players... the thought of paying lopez 54 mil just gets me ill!!

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I agree he's overpaid, the day they signed him I said I'd rather Phil got Greg Monroe for $50M. He's not even an elite defender allowing 108pts per 100 possessions over his career.

tiger0330 said:

I agree he's overpaid, the day they signed him I said I'd rather Phil got Greg Monroe for $50M. He's not even an elite defender allowing 108pts per 100 possessions over his career.

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trust me you would not have been happy with monroe either plus no way monroe was coming here for 50m.. the league watches how we give out contracts.. 25 mil fisher, 60 mil for phil, 124 mil carmelo.. trust me, if anyone comes here they are taking all they can off the table...