Phil Jackson's Reason For Brutal Season: '(Bleep) Happens!'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- New York Knicks president Phil Jackson has an explanation for his team's nightmarish season.
"S--- happens," Jackson said during a town hall meeting with season-ticket holders on Thursday, according to the New York Daily News. "That's something that we all know. ... And this season it did happen to us."
The Hall of Famer's remark was met with laughter, the newspaper reported. But not everyone was amused.
"If you have a group of Knicks fans there that have still supported the franchise in the single-worst season in Knick history, and fans are asking questions about where did things go awry, what's the plan this offseason, why did things get so bad, you can't tell the fan base, 'Sorry, bleep happens,' " WFAN co-host Craig Carton said Friday. "That's the one thing you can't say!"
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The Knicks have seven games left to add to a franchise-worst 61 losses. After that it'll be rebuilding time with a lottery pick -- potentially the top selection in the draft -- and plenty of cash to spend in free agency.
Jackson slowly but surely dismantled the team's core after he was hired last March, trading away Raymond Felton, Tyson Chandler, J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert, and buying out Amar'e Stoudemire's contract. The season was already in the tank when the Knicks lost superstar Carmelo Anthony to knee surgery, and head coach Derek Fisher was forced to fill the holes with journeymen and D-Leaguers.
"There were a number of factors that vaulted the season into the despair," Jackson said, according to the Daily News. "We knew we may have to do this, take the team apart to get to where we wanted to get to. This is our opportunity ... and it may be a godsend."
