The End of Zen

The Phil Jackson era in New York appears to be over. Today, owner James Dolan and Phil Jackson are expected to part ways. Under the leadership of Jackson, the team has never made the playoffs and has become the laughing stock of the league.

Few remember the days of the Chicago Bulls dynasty or the years Jackson spent in Los Angeles.

Jackson has tried to stick to the triangle offense, while hiring the likes of Derek Fisher and Jeff Hornacek.

The rosters that Jackson has put together have not been impressive either. The Knicks broke the bank to keep Carmelo Anthony while not acquiring talent that could complement him. Jackson has had a falling out with Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis.

The End of Zen became official when Jackson was unable to move Carmelo Anthony to a contract buy-out. Dolan would like to keep Carmelo around until the end of his contract.

The bright side is that the Knicks can find a suitable candidate to replace Jackson. This could open up the door for another Jackson, Mark Jackson as GM and possibly coach. Mark Jackson wanted more control at Golden State before he was fired in 2014. The Knicks should take a page out of the Lakers book and bring back the New York legend to turn the team around. Wait, they have tried that with Phil Jackson.

Phil Jackson's problem is he did not have Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Shaquille O'Neal or Kobe Bryant to bail him out in crunch time. Although those triangle offenses were effective and produced titles, Jackson has never been known as a builder. Jackson is known more as a house sitter. If you build a good house and need a great baby sitter, he is the person for the job.

Another candidate that could replace Jackson is David Griffin. He was let go by the Cleveland Cavaliers after building a championship roster for the past three seasons.

Hopefully the Knicks have a candidate in mind and can hire him before free agency starts next week.