If you’re still holding out a shred of hope Phil Jackson will run the Knicks bench at the Garden next season in light of recent rumors, stop.
Charley Rosen, Jackson’s confidant, met with the Zen Master before Sunday’s loss to Sacramento, and told The Post there is “zero percent” chance that proposed home-and-away scenario occurs next season.
“Phil said it’s absolutely not true — there’s no chance he’s going to coach,’’ Rosen told The Post. “It’s total fantasy — an old rumor.’’
What made the idea not so preposterous is Jackson, who will be 71 in September, wouldn’t have to put his body through the travel grind.
However, according to an NBA source, Jackson working any sidelines is physically unrealistic. Though he has lost weight the last several months, the requirements of bouncing out of his seat on the bench with frequency is an impossibility. He has had two hip replacements, a knee replacement and has chronic back issues.
Rosen, Jackson’s former assistant coach with the Continental Basketball Association’s Albany Patroons, writes an NBA column for TodaysFastbreak.com and meets with Jackson every three weeks to compile an after-the-season diary of the 2015-16 season called “Phil’s Files.”
The thought of Jackson coaching home games only next season was raised last week, when the Knicks were on the West Coast and ESPN ran a long profile on Jackson titled, “Now and Zen: Sense of Urgency Drives Phil Jackson.’’
Buried in the 24th paragraph of the profile was this sentence: “There’s even talk Jackson could offer to coach home games next season, with [Kurt] Rambis coaching the road games.”
The line gained traction after Carmelo Anthony denounced the possibility by saying Jackson was too ancient to coach, said he “wouldn’t accept” a scenario of having separate head coaches for home and away games and added, “Let’s kill that rumor.”
Rambis also pooh-poohed the report, saying there has been “no talk’’ of that scenario since several years ago, before one of Jackson’s Lakers’ comebacks.
Rosen said it has never happened in the NBA, but remembers a scenario in the CBA in 1985-86, when Detroit Spirits coach Sam Washington didn’t coach road games. That may be where Jackson first came up with the notion to bring to Lakers owner Jerry Buss.
There’s speculation this all was hatched by Buss’ daughter and Jackson’s fiancée, Lakers president Jeanie Buss. Ramona Shelburne, the reporter who wrote the feature, is a former Lakers beat writer who is known to be close to Buss.
After firing Mike Woodson in April 2014, Jackson said Jeanie Buss “tried to encourage me to coach the team. If there’s anyone who can encourage me to do anything, it’s Jeanie Buss. But I was able to withstand her arguments the whole time.”
Buss could well be campaigning again behind the scenes. Shelburne later tweeted she had to word her vague sentence carefully. Buss is not supposed to interfere in Knicks business under conspiracy rules.
On the day he fired Derek Fisher, Jackson was asked if Knicks owner James Dolan asked him if he would want to take over the coaching reins.
“No, that was understood when I took the job,’’ Jackson said tersely.