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OK, so this is pretty insane, even for the Knicks and their president, Phil Jackson.
The embattled Zen Master showed up at practice Tuesday, but didn’t talk to reporters. That’s fine by me — Phil usually only says dumb stuff when he talks to the press.
Hello Knicks. pic.twitter.com/O6oJ0VhZfO
— Steve Popper (@StevePopper) February 7, 2017
He also didn’t talk to the players, which was a little more disturbing.
Courtney Lee said Phil didn't speak to the team - "We're beyond pep talks."
— Steve Popper (@StevePopper) February 7, 2017
Hey, that’s depressing! Still, it’s probably for the best that Phil keeps his mouth shut.
Yeeeah, so about that...
Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding wrote a column on Phil’s current frienemy, Carmelo Anthony. The article was lame as hell — based on the premise that Phil thought of Melo as his next Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, while dismissively questioning Melo’s commitment to the team game. Having read the article (I guess?) Phil decided to respond on Twitter...with complete and utter nonsense:
Bleacher's Ding almost rings the bell, but I learned you don't change the spot on a leopard with Michael Graham in my CBA daze.
— Phil Jackson (@PhilJackson11) February 7, 2017
Phil uses the example of Michael Graham, an extremely talented player for the ‘80s Georgetown Hoyas who was kicked off the team for academic reasons. He feuded with Phil during his time with the Albany Patroons, per Marc Berman:
“Nothing I said made any difference,” Jackson once wrote of Graham. “Whenever I tried to talk to him, his eyes would glaze over and he’d retreat to some dark inner corner nobody could penetrate.”
Graham would later get kicked out of the CBA for testing positive for cocaine.
Carmelo Anthony is a very good basketball player, passionate activist and philanthropist. Phil Jackson is a creepy old dude who picks weird fights through the media.
Shut the hell up, Phil.