Isiah Thomas says Phil Jackson is still the Zen Master to him.
While he “respects’’ the way Carmelo Anthony has handled his undefined status, Thomas admits Jackson isn’t the first big name executive/coach to fail in New York and it won’t hurt his legacy to be fired in late June following a three-year, three-month disaster.
Thomas, also a former Knicks president who had a similarly inept stint, has resurfaced as Liberty president. The Garden’s WNBA tenant clinched their third straight playoff berth this week under Thomas.
“There’ve been a lot of us who have come through New York that want to do well,’’ Thomas said in Las Vegas for the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor bout and appearing on The MMA Hour radio show with Ariel Helwani. “For whatever reason we didn’t do well. I look at Phil before he got to New York – how he was respected in the game. And that’s the Phil Jackson I choose to remember. That’s on the real.”
Thomas attempted to hire Jackson as a coach in 2005 but got rejected and he turned to Larry Brown.
“Believe me, Phil, myself, Donnie Walsh, Larry Brown, Lenny (Wilkins), all of us go back and try to figure out, man what did we do wrong?,’’ said Thomas. “If we can do it all over again what would we do different?”
“That’s the thing we love in New York. It brings out the best in you as a person because you really get pushed to the wall in terms of trying to figure out how to win and put it together and satisfy the fan base. That’s why we all want to crack that egg.”
The new Knicks management team – and Jackson – have no more use for the 33-year-old Anthony, who is on the trading block. In the latest diss, Knicks president Steve Mills penned an 1,100-word treatise on his vision for the future and made no mention of Anthony.
Perhaps in response to that and a season-ticket tweet that didn’t include his photo, Anthony tweeted “When we have a clear purpose in life we can overcome anything. WITHOUT a sense of purpose our lives begin a slow decline.’’
“You got to give Carmelo a lot of credit,’’ Thomas said. “As a man and former player and watching him handle this, I have great respect how he’s handled it and what he’s done. I’m not enough involved with inner workings if I’d trade him or keep him. Only Steve Mills and Scott Perry can answer that question. They have more information than I have. All of us admire him as a player.’’
As The Post reported, Thomas, despite his friendship with James Dolan, was not considered for the presidency that went to Mills and normally shies away from discussing the club
Thomas was asked if he still gives Dolan advice on the Knicks. Though Mills and Thomas famously worked together once, their relationship deteriorated in the wake of the Anucha Browne Sanders sexual harassment suit.
“I’m involved with the Liberty,’’ said Thomas, in Vegas promoting his new champagne. “I talk to him about the Liberty. I don’t talk to him about the Knicks. I respect authority and lines of authority. It would be inappropriate of me and not respectful of me to whoever’s in that job to voice my opinion about the Knicks – from a personnel or strategic standing. That’s not my place. I have to respect those lines of authority.’’
Thomas has told confidants across the years his goal is to one day run the Knicks again.
Asked if he still wants to be an NBA executive, Thomas said, “I don’t know. I’m having a good time with the Liberty. I’d never say never.’’