Jackson looks up during a news conference announcing him as the team president of the New York Knicks basketball team at Madison Square Garden in New York
Jackson looks up during a news conference announcing him as the team president of the New York Knicks basketball team at Madison Square Garden in New York Reuters

New York Knicks president Phil Jackson is mincing no words in saying how he hates the current roster of his team and he’s wasting no time in preparing to make changes to in time as he looks forward to the next season.

“We’re in a talent hunt,” Jackson said to the New York Times on Tuesday. “We have to bring in talent.”

The statement came after the team’s embarrassing loss to Jackson’s former team, Los Angeles Lakers, which scored 51 points in the third quarter of a 127-96 loss, one of the worst efforts for NY this season.

However, the Knicks still have a shot at a postseason slot despite losing 2 of their last 3 games.

New York (30-42) just 2 games back off the Atlanta Hawks (31-29) for the eighth and final playoff spot in the weak Eastern Conference. The Hawks are mired in a slump as well and are in a four-game skid. Led by Carmelo Anthony's 32 points, the Knicks beat the Sacramento Kings, 107-99 on Wednesday.

For his part, Knicks head coach Mike Woodson is showing confidence in his players despite the tough situation but is also realistic.

“Hey, Phil’s not going to sit idle,” said Woodson. “I’m sure after the season’s over with, he’s trying to put his stamp on things, he’s going to try to go out and fill the best talent that he can.

“That’s what it’s all about when you’re trying to build a team. But again, I’ve coached some of the guys for the last two years, I like the makeup of some of our guys. I would never kick them to the curb because they’ve been good to me.’’

“It was awful, huh,’’ Jackson said after the Lakers loss. “Fifty-one points. When it’s 35 points [in a quarter], you start to get worried. When it’s a 51-point quarter, that’s really awful.’’

“This is just residual depression from losing a game that they were up by 17 points on Sunday,” added the Zen Master 2. “It kind of took their hopes away from being in the playoffs.”

The operative word is “their" and not “our". For Jackson, he’s not yet part of the team—the mess—he did not take part in creating.