Just a month into his graduation from coaching to the executive division, Phil Jackson's valiant mission to clean house within the New York Knicks front office has hit a significant snag. After firing Mike Woodson, Jackson attempted to exert further control over the organization by putting members of the Knicks maligned front office in his crosshairs. No names were named, but the Bleacher Report alleged that Steve Mills, Allan Houston and Mark Warkentien were all targets to be reassigned or fired by Jackson.
According to the New York Daily News' source, Dolan replied to Jackson's power move by advising his team's president to focus on building a winning team. Jackson's role within the organization has been comically ambiguous so it's understandable why he'd even be a little confused about how far his purview over the franchise extended.
Mills is a member of Dolan's inner circle and is in the midst of his second go-round as the Knicks general manager. Warkentien is Mills' right hand man while Houston is constantly mentioned as a possible successor to Mill's position as general manager. However, neither has done much to distinguish themselves in their respective roles.
More importantly all three of the names on Jackson's alleged hit list are clients of CAA. If Jackson really wanted to make changes within the organization he may be talking to the wrong man. CAA has its mitts all over the Knicks. The Knicks front office has lower approval numbers than Congress and despite Jackson's Obama-like vow to bring change he's discovering that transforming the Knicks from within has just as many obstacles and pitfalls.
