Failed exec Phil tanking while Miami is thriving
Phil Jackson knows everything — or at least he thinks he does — so there is probably little to no chance that he would study Pat Riley’s management style and emulate his old coaching rival. But for the guy known for handing out books to players, Jackson would be smart to take a page from “The Winner Within” if he’s serious about making the successful transition from coaching legend to front office executive.
Somehow it’s been 22 years since Pat Riley abruptly left Madison Square Garden. So long ago in fact that Riley bid farewell to the Knicks not with a cellphone call, Skype or e-mail. Riley famously faxed in his resignation.
It was an ugly ending to what should have been a long and prosperous marriage. Instead, Miami continues to get Riley’s best years, which include three NBA championships and five trips to the NBA Finals. You have to believe that with the resources Riley had in New York and with a foundation already in place he would have delivered at least that many titles to the Garden. But he decided to build his own empire near South Beach.
That’s one loss from which the Knicks haven’t recovered. Under Jeff Van Gundy, the Knicks still had some success in the late ’90s which included back-toback trips to the conference finals and one Finals appearance in 1999. But since that last shot at glory, the Knicks have been a franchise known mostly for losing and chaos while Riley, who began in Miami as the team president and head coach, has turned the Heat into a model franchise.
And perhaps the best example of that isn’t the three championships or his ability to draft well (Dwyane Wade), pull off blockbuster trades for franchise players (Alonzo Mourning and Shaquille O’Neal) or sign the best free agent on the market (LeBron James). That’s all part of his legacy. But this year, Riley and Erik Spoelstra have the Heat, who were at the Garden on Wednesday, challenging for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference in the season after losing Wade to free agency and Chris Bosh to illness. So much for tanking.
“That’s just not us,” Spoelstra said. “It is a privilege, an absolute privilege and honor to be in games that mean something.”
The Knicks haven’t played a mean- ingful game in March and April since Jackson arrived in town. It’s not easy to build a winner, although in Riley’s first season in Miami the Heat made the playoffs, experienced a 10-game improvement from the year before and he acquired Mourning and Tim Hardaway via trades.
In Jackson’s three seasons running the Knicks, his teams haven’t sniffed the playoffs. He’s made two good draft picks with Kristaps Porzingis and Willy Hernangomez but when it comes to building a culture and bringing stability to an organization, Jackson has fallen well short of expectations. Riley has had three head coaches in Miami: himself, Stan Van Gundy and Spoelstra. Jackson has had four not including himself although Jackson sometimes acts like the coach when he takes over the practice court to run a triangle clinic.
When Riley felt it was time to step in, he removed Van Gundy and coached the team himself. And to a championship, no less. Riley is done with coaching. Now, he stays behind the scenes and out of the picture. Not even Jackson’s insult can drag Riley out of his bunker. In December, the petty side of Jackson was revealed in an ESPN story where he took an indirect subtle dig at Riley for losing LeBron to free agency. Such a comment is not standard operating procedure among league executives but Jackson couldn’t resist. It was also a little pathetic considering that Riley recruited LeBron to Miami and Jackson couldn’t even get a free agent meeting with Kevin Durant.
Jackson should be humbled by all the losing he’s experienced in New York. Just like Riley was humbled by the losing he suffered in Miami, which included a 25-win season in 2002-03. Three years later, the Heat won its first title.
There was a 15-win season in 2007-08 that didn’t even get Miami the top pick of the draft, despite having five fewer wins than anybody else. Chicago earned the top spot and drafted Derrick Rose. Riley, picking second, selected Michael Beasley. Three years after that 15-win campaign, Miami began its run of four straight trips to the Finals, including back-to-back titles. When the losing started, Riley went to work. From all indications, Phil doesn’t have the appetite to grind.
Riley has a home court advantage because Miami is a prime free agent destination. The weather, the zero state income tax and the chance to play for a top franchise are too good for a lot of players to turn down. There are already whispers that if Utah can’t resign Gordon Hayward he could end up in Miami.
In the meantime, Miami has focused its energy on player development. The Heat have rescued players from the land of misfit toys — Hassan Whiteside, James Johnson, Dion Waiters and Tyler Johnson — and turned them into solid contributors and valuable assets. Knicks general manager Steve Mills has made player development a priority.
That’s what the best organizations do. They don’t tank. They keep building and grinding. The San Antonio Spurs are masters at it. Riley is the same. Phil Jackson has a long way to move into that class. He’s got a lot to learn. Who knows if he can even operate a fax machine.