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New York Knicks’ Phil Jackson compares JR Smith to Dennis Rodman

By Bryan Rose

Apr 16, 2014; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks guard J.R. Smith (8) handles the ball during the second half against the Toronto Raptors at Madison Square Garden. New York Knicks defeat the Toronto Raptors 95-92. Mandatory Credit: Jim O
Apr 16, 2014; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks guard J.R. Smith (8) handles the ball during the second half against the Toronto Raptors at Madison Square Garden. New York Knicks defeat the Toronto Raptors 95-92. Mandatory Credit: Jim O /
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When Phil Jackson was hired by the New York Knicks last season, the Zen Master stayed relatively quiet during his first month or two on the job. However, with an offseason under his belt, the coaching legend is ruffling all sorts of feathers.

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Jackson already blamed Tyson Chandler for a dysfunctional New York Knicks locker room last season and now has compared J.R. Smith to Dennis Rodman.

Now, Phil Jackson wasn’t suggesting that Smith became a hard working, rebounding machine over the summer. Rather, Jackson suggested that he nor anybody else may never get through to the shooting guard. Asked by thew New York Post how one can get J.R. Smith to stop with his immature actions, the New York Knicks’ president gave the following response.

“I don’t know if that’s possible or not. He might be one of those guys that’s a little bit like Dennis Rodman that has an outlier kind of side to him. But I’m gonna get to know him as we go along, and we’ll find a way to either make him a very useful player on our organization, or whatever.”

Not exactly the most ringing of endorsements, though nobody is a better master manipulator than Phil Jackson and make no mistake, he fired this shot with intention behind it. Whether or not J.R. Smith will actually attempt to prove Phil Jackson incorrect is a completely different story, though it seems evident that Jackson is attempting to place the bug in Smith’s ear.

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