Phil Jackson: Unfixable Carmelo relationship led to Knicks exit - ESPN

Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson unloaded about his failed relationship with Carmelo Anthony during his tenure as Knicks president, writing in an upcoming book that he felt the tension between the two essentially forced him out of New York in 2017.

Jackson, as part of the book «Masters of the Game: A Conversational History of the NBA in 75 Legendary Players» set for release Tuesday, addressed his time as Knicks president from 2014 to 2017 during the chapter of the book on Anthony. He detailed a conversation with James Dolan in which the Knicks owner questioned whether the media would run Jackson out of town, with Jackson responding that his broken pairing with Anthony meant one of them needed to leave.

"[Dolan] said, 'I don't want you to go through it. I know what it's like to deal with these people [the media],'" Jackson says in the book. «I said, 'Unfortunately my relationship with Carmelo is kind of busted, and if he's going to be here, it's probably best that I go.'»

Excerpts from the book were published Wednesday by the New York Post.

Jackson ultimately left the Knicks in June 2017 after the team decided at the time not to buy out Anthony's contract.

Jackson's time as Knicks president was most notable for the strained relationship with Anthony, who was traded to New York in February 2011. Jackson made critical comments of the star forward to reporters and on social media, drawing a rebuke at the time from the then-executive director of the players' union. The situation was viewed as beyond repair by the end of the 2017 season.

In the book, Jackson addressed a meeting with Dolan in which Jackson said they needed to trade Anthony.

«I said, 'I don't want Carmelo back on the team; we've got to find a way to trade him,'»