The rumors of Phil Jackson returning to coaching in the NBA are starting to heat up once again. With the recent resurgence of the New York Knicks and the potentially vacant head coaching job in the Big Apple, the Knicks might be willing to offer the Zen Master an enormous contract to take the helm on the sidelines next season.
Now that the Knicks are a perennial playoff team with a lot of promising young talent and a proven superstar in Carmelo Anthony, the lure of New York might be enticing to the 11-time NBA champion.
According to the Journal Times in Milwaukee, the Knicks might be willing to offer as much as $50 million over the next four years to the former Los Angeles Lakers head coach:
If the New York Knicks don’t advance beyond the first round of the playoffs, I’m hearing they’ll make a major — repeat, major — push to lure legendary coach Phil Jackson out of retirement. With money being no object, the scuttlebutt is the Knicks brass may offer the “Zen Master” a four-year, $50 million deal.
It still remains to be seen whether or not the Zen Master is ready to come back to coaching after just one season away from the game, but with New York potentially offering $50 million it might be too much to turn down.
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If the Knicks were able to convince Jackson to come out of retirement, the fans in the Big Apple would almost certainly buy into the fact that the front office is ready to become a perennial NBA title contender. The addition of Jackson would be a giant leap forward for this storied franchise that has had virtually no direction on the sidelines since the departure of Jeff Van Gundy.
It’ll be interesting to see how things transpire after this season is officially over for the New York Knicks. The Knicks’ front office will have a tough decision to make if interim head coach Mike Woodson is able to lead the team deep in the playoffs and the prospect of adding Jackson.
