ESPN: The Knicks and Phil Jackson have picked up the final two years of his contract

Are you ready for two more years of Phil Jackson? Well too damned bad, because the Knicks’ president/chief trigonometrist has signed on for final two years of his five-year deal, according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Ian Begley:

Sources familiar with the situation told ESPN that the Knicks and Jackson quietly picked up their option on the remaining two years of his contract this spring.

Jackson and the Knicks each had an option to walk away from each other at the end of this season. It was built into the contract after Year 3 because Jackson had no interest in working through a lockout. The NBA and its players' union made sure to avoid that this fall, when they agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise—owner James Dolan said the Knicks planned to honor Jackson’s five-year deal during his infamous Feb. 10 anti-Charles Oakley tirade on the Michael Kay show.

So what does this mean for the Knicks? Well, Kurt Rambis will continued to be employed, and the team will probably continue to focus more on offense—with mediocre results—instead of defense. So...um...cool?

As for Phil’s whipping boy, Carmelo Anthony, there remain myriad obstacles to orchestrating a trade that nets the Knicks a decent return. And that is assuming Melo definitely decides to leave. He’s a complicated dude.

So welcome to the next two years of your life, Knicks fans. As long as Phil doesn’t start trading draft picks, it’ll be alright.