The Knicks are holding a press conference on Tuesday to announce that Phil Jackson is joining the front office and ESPN and WatchESPN will handle the coverage online as New York brings in their former player to take over as president of the franchise and things start up at 11 am ET and it goes down on the day before a fan organization put together a protest for the NY and Indiana Pacers game.
News about Jackson has been trickling out all week and the rumors have been bouncing around the media for a month and now the team will introduce Jackson in a press conference on Tuesday at 11 am ET and it comes as the team is playing some of its best ball after winning six games in a row. According to ESPN.com, Jackson is taking over the reins for the Knicks as president of basketball operations and he will be making $12 million per season and those details will be announced officially at Madison Square Garden at the press conference.
Jackson is bringing some championship credibility to a franchise that desperately needs it and he has 11 titles and rings to his name and now he will try to turn around a Knicks franchise that has fallen on hard times. The team has been on a nice streak now and they are just outside of playoff contention and while the Knicks have no realistic shot at winning a championship, making it to the playoff will at least keep fans at bay for the time being and if Jackson can keep Carmelo Anthony in New York, things will really start moving. The Knicks are just 27-40 this season and they are just a couple games out of the final playoff spot behind the Hawks and this six games winning streak has sure helped get fans hopes up high with Jackson coming in.
The biggest issue for the Knicks is making sure that Carmelo Anthony stays in New York and while he could opt out of his contract over the summer, adding Jackson could mean that he signs back. There were some rumors that the Lakers could sweep in and bring Jackson back in a front office role, but the Buss family did not make any formal offers and now it's too late, as Jackson is set to take over at president. The future for Mike Woodson could be up in the air and ESPN.com reported that he will spend time in Los Angeles while he is working for the Knicks, but it is not expected to interfere with his work for the franchise.
The Knicks won over 50 games and the division last season and they have taken a big step back and now adding Jackson could help turn things around. The team has moves to make in the offseason and Anthony has said that he will do whatever Jackson needs and whatever it takes to win, including changing his style and the way he plays.
Check here for the NY Knicks Phil Jackson introductory press conference from ESPN and streaming from the WatchESPN website on ESPN.com from Madison Square Garden as he gets introduced.