‘Deeply disappointed’ Phil Jackson ousted as Knicks president

Phil Jackson and the New York Knicks are parting ways after he oversaw one of the worst eras in team history and feuded with star Carmelo Anthony.

Days after Jackson reiterated his desire to trade Anthony and said he would listen to deals for Kristaps Porzingis, Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan reversed course and cut ties with the team president.

“After careful thought and consideration, we mutually agreed that the Knicks will be going in a different direction,” Dolan said in a statement. “Phil Jackson is one of the most celebrated and successful individuals in the history of the NBA. His legacy in the game of basketball is unmatched. We wish him the best and thank him for his service to the Knicks as both a player and an executive.”

The move comes less than a week after Jackson led the Knicks through the NBA draft and on the eve of free agency that opens Saturday. Dolan said general manager Steve Mills would run the day-to-day business of the team in the short term.

Jackson, who won two championships with the Knicks as a player in 1970 and 1973, signed a five-year, $60 million contract in 2014 to become the team president.“The New York Knicks will always hold a special place in my heart,” Jackson said. “This team and this town launched my NBA career. I will forever be indebted to them. I am grateful to Mr. Dolan for giving me the opportunity to return here.

“I had hoped, of course, to bring another NBA championship to the Garden. As someone who treasures winning, I am deeply disappointed that we weren’t able to do that. New York fans deserve nothing less. I wish them and the Knicks organization all the best – today and always.”

ESPN reported, attributing its reporting to anonymous sources, that “conversations about what was best for the team’s future between Jackson and Knicks owner James Dolan accelerated this week when the franchise decided it would not buy out embattled forward Carmelo Anthony.”

The winner of an NBA-record 11 championships as coach, Jackson couldn’t engineer one playoff berth as an executive. He was welcomed back to the organization to huge fanfare in March 2014, but it soon became clear the transition would be a poor one. His first coaching hire, Derek Fisher, lasted just 1 1/2 seasons, and Jackson’s trades and free agency moves also failed to improve the club. The Knicks were 80-166 in his three full seasons, including a franchise-worst 17-65 in 2014-15.

The Knicks never won more than 32 games in a season and never made the playoffs. He feuded with Anthony last season and didn’t speak to reporters at all while the team went 31-51.

The turbulence he created off the court may have led to his departure more than the Knicks’ record on it.

Jackson wanted to trade Anthony, the All-Star forward who has two years left on the five-year, $124 million deal that Jackson gave him shortly after taking the job. Anthony has a no-trade clause and has said he wants to stay in New York, and the stalemate that hung over the team for much of last season threatened to linger throughout the summer.