Phil Jackson Discusses Pursuit of Tony Bennett as Knicks HC During Time as Exec

The New York Knicks reportedly pursued former Virginia men's basketball coach Tony Bennett before hiring Derek Fisher ahead of the 2014-15 season.

According to Stefan Bondy of the New York Post, former Knicks team president Phil Jackson revealed his desire to hire Bennett in his upcoming book Masters of the Game: A Conversational History of the NBA in 75 Legendary Players.

The book was co-authored by sportswriter Sam Smith. It is set to be released on Nov. 4, more than eight years after Jackson officially parted ways with the Knicks.

During his four-year tenure as president, Jackson wrote that he attempted to get Bennett to leave Charlottesville for Manhattan, per Bondy.

Jackson wrote that the former UVA head coach responded: "My kid's still in high school, so I'm not doing that."

According to Bondy, "A source confirmed Jackson called Bennett for the Knicks gig, but the reason for the rejection was more so about his desire to stay at UVA."

Bennett cited NIL rule changes as one of the reasons behind his decision to retire in 2024. He closed out his 15-season tenure having led the Cavaliers to 10 NCAA Tournament appearances and the 2019 national championship.

Fisher saw a much shorter tenure in New York, where he lasted less than two seasons before he was fired midway through the 2015-16 campaign. He left the Knicks having fallen well short of the playoffs while compiling a career 40-96 record.

Jackson wrote in his upcoming book that Fisher "wasn't ready to coach" when the Knicks hired him in 2014, per Bondy.

The Knicks have been through six more head coaches since Fisher's dismissal. Kurt Rambis' interim term was followed by two seasons from Jeff Hornacek, one and a half from David Fizdale, another interim stint from Mike Miller and five seasons from Tom Thibodeau.

Thibodeau, the only one of those coaches to get the Knicks into the playoffs, was fired last offseason shortly after leading his team to the Eastern Conference Finals. Following a Tuesday night loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, the Knicks are 2-2 to start out their first campaign under Mike Brown.