Lamar Odom, Phil Jackson’s first player acquisition, will start his comeback at the Knicks’ training facility Monday.
Jackson signed Odom on the final day of the regular season with a non-guaranteed pact for the upcoming season, giving the Knicks time to evaluate the troubled power forward from Queens.
That evaluation has yet to start, but Jackson still is hopeful Odom can work out. He had plenty of success for Jackson with the Lakers, playing on two title teams, but that was before he became a reality TV star as husband of Khloe Kardashian. They are now divorced. Odom sat out all last season because of alleged drug issues.
“He’s coming to town this week,” Jackson said in his first comments on Odom. “We know he’s a really good basketball player.
“He wants to put himself back together, and he has a chance to do that by having the whole summer to work at it and getting himself back in basketball condition to play. He told me that’s what he wants to do. Having a relationship with him. It’s a pretty good risk-reward situation for us.’’
Odom could play on the Knicks’ summer-league team in July in Las Vegas.
The Post has reported Jackson worked the non-guaranteed deal this way so he can use Odom as mathematical trade filler this summer in case it doesn’t work out.
Jackson said the partnership with general manager Steve Mills is succeeding.
“We’re working well together,’’ Jackson said. “We’re starting to find a kind of pace of how we do work, parsing up the job. [Owner] Jim Dolan wanted me to focus on certain aspects and not all the details with the minutiae and Steve’s doing some of that.”
Jackson confirmed the Knicks will attempt to buy a second-round pick, acknowledging snaring a first-rounder will be too tough. The Knicks traded away their first- and second-rounders in this June superdraft.
“We have limited amount of funds we can use,’’ Jackson said. “Teams do sell draft picks. If teams are willing to allow us to buy a draft pick for a player we want to have at a position, we’ll do it.’’
Jackson said the Bucks and 76ers are trade targets because those teams own multiple picks in the draft that won’t fit on their rosters, but also said he won’t get into “a bidding war.’’
“We’re not going to run ourselves into the ground if it doesn’t work out,’’ he said.
On the coaching front, Jackson said he’s not averse to hiring a name fans aren’t too familiar with, perhaps referring to former Laker Tyronn Lue, who was to interview with the Cavaliers.
“The fan corps deserve [a coach] that will come in without a bias and have a clean slate to work with,’’ Jackson said. “Something in that appeals to me.’’