Originally Posted by Jack.Kerr
It is. And it's the only point on which I have any semblance of an intersection of philosophy with Dolan, who is aggressively antagonistic with the NY media, refusing to grant interviews, dictating a very limited of staff authorized to give on-the-record interviews, requiring that a team media-representative be present for all player interviews, discouraging players from talking to media. I wish he were more deft than dumb about manipulating press relations, but given how unrelentingly negative the NY sports media is, I do understand Dolan's knee-jerk reaction.
The media played Thomas against Wilkens, then Marbury against Wilkens, then Brown against Marbury, and Brown against Thomas; then Dolan against Thomas, and Thomas against Marbury; then Walsh against Dolan, the D'Antoni against Walsh, then Dolan against D'Antoni, then Woodson against D'Antoni, then Stoudemire against Anthony, then Anthony against D'Antoni, then Anthony against Woodson, then Jackson against Woodson, then Jackson against Dolan, and now Anthony against Jackson. It's a never-ending series of media-created conflicts, exaggerated solely for the sake of creating headlines, selling papers, and getting clicks.
Seriously, do they really think that the Knicks can do better than Phil Jackson right now? Who? Jackson's stature as an ex-Knick linked to the team's LAST championship years, as a coaching product of Knicks coaching legend Red Holzman, and as the most successful NBA head coach since Red Auerbach...all of that is the only thing that has any hope of shaming Dolan into minimal interference with the personnel/team management decisions. And even Jackson's stature and reputation will have a limited shelf life with an idiot like Dolan. If the media starts undermining Jackson with the fans, that shelf life becomes even shorter than Frank Isola's manhood.
Jackson is undoubtedly a smug, arrogant SOB who uses the media to manipulate players, and who plays games with reporters and doesn't toady up to them to curry favor. But he may well be the last thing standing between the Knicks future and Isiah Thomas's return as GM and Dolan's own personal fluffer.
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