Former New York Knicks point guard Shane Larkin spoke about his former boss Phil Jackson and his new team — the Boston Celtics.
Shane Larkin was acquired by the New York Knicks as part of the trade that sent Tyson Chandler to the Dallas Mavericks. Phil Jackson believed that Jose Calderon—sent by Dallas to New York—would be the perfect leader for the triangle offense.
Jackson gushed over Calderon. Larkin? Not so much. The Zen Master infamously ripped Larkin by calling out his “tiny hands” in an interview with Charley Rosen. Larkin responded, “I’ve never met a man so concerned with another man’s hands.”
It appears that now Larkin is ready to bury the hatchet with his former boss. Neither guy is in great shape. Jackson was canned and Larkin spent last season in Spain. Right now, he’s with the Celtics.
He told The New York Post‘s Marc Berman why he feels Jackson deserves another chance.
Via NY Post:
“He’s a great coach — obviously a great basketball mind,’’ Larkin told The Post of Jackson, who was fired after the draft. “Coach or GM, you have to have a great basketball mind. How many rings does he have? He could’ve been a great GM. Maybe he just had a few bad acquisitions. He had great ideas on what he wanted to do with the team. It didn’t work out, but that doesn’t change what he did — still a great coach.
Larkin also spoke about his new team and playing with Kyrie Irving.
“When I was still in school, he’d work out at the University,’’ Larkin said. “I used to watch him after our practice. He’d actually dribble a tennis ball around the court between his legs the entire time. I’d never seen that before. I took that from him a long time ago, and I’ve never told him that yet.’’