Members of Phil Jackson’s championship teams with the Knicks are planning to be in attendance Tuesday when he is given the keys to the team’s front office. Among those applauding the loudest will be Walt “Clyde” Frazier, Jackson’s teammate on the 1970 and 1973 title teams.
“I’m excited,” Frazier said of Jackson’s arrival. “It has to help the organization, having a guy like Phil around with his knowledge of the game and as far as attracting other players to New York. Now, it gives them a lot of credibility.”
Frazier thinks Jackson won’t have a problem making the transition from coaching to the front office.
“I think it’s easier because you don’t have to deal with the egos,” Frazier told The Post at halftime of the Knicks’ 115-94 win over the Bucks at the Garden. “As a coach, you’ve got 12 or 15 different egos you’ve got to try to motivate. As a GM, it’s just knowledge of talent and trying to bring it into the team. I think it’s going to be a smooth transition for him.”
Though Jackson won six titles in Chicago and five in Los Angeles, his arrival in New York feels like a homecoming.
“He understands the nuances of a New York and what it’s like,” Frazier said, “the fan base, how long this team has suffered. I think that’s why he came back. He probably needed a new challenge. What does he have to prove? All the rings that he has, if he fails it’s going to be a negative for him. But he needed a challenge and what better place than him coming home and trying to bring a champion to New York.”
A longtime broadcaster for the Knicks, Frazier compares the excitement of Jackson’s arrival with the drafting of Patrick Ewing.
“All of New York reverberated when Patrick got here. It’s the same thing with the fan base with Jackson coming in,” he said. “You know he’s a winner and a guy we can relate to.”
If by chance Jackson wants his former point guard to join the coaching staff, Frazier would be willing to listen.
“If he came to me, it would be a big challenge,” Frazier said. “It would be something I would have to think about. You never know.”