NBA: Phil Jackson and struggling New York Knicks mutually agree to part ways

Phil Jackson announced on June 28, 2017 his resignation as New York Knicks president of basketball operations by mutual agreement with team owner Jim Dolan.
PHOTO: AFP/GETTY IMAGES

(REUTERS) - The New York Knicks and team president Phil Jackson mutually agreed to part ways a little over three years after the Hall of Famer was brought on to help revive the struggling National Basketball Association (NBA) team, it said on Wednesday.

Jackson, who won a record 11 NBA titles as a coach, brought impressive credentials to his first front-office position, but failed to live up to the expectations.

"After careful thought and consideration, we mutually agreed that the Knicks will be going in a different direction," Knicks executive chairman Jim Dolan said in a statement.

The Knicks, who have not made the play-offs since 2013, went 31-51 during the 2016-17 campaign, leaving them 10 games back of a post-season berth.

Jackson, who won two NBA titles as a player with the Knicks in the early 1970s, enjoyed even more success as a coach as he snared six championships with the Chicago Bulls and five with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Dolan said Knicks general manager Steve Mills would run the day-to-day business of the organisation over the short term.

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