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Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen appeared on ESPN’s “The Jump” with Rachel Nichols on Thursday and was not exactly kind to his former Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson. Asked who should be blamed for the New York Knicks’ struggles this season, he pointed directly at the team president. Jackson put veteran talent around Carmelo Anthony, hoping to get back to the playoffs, but instead New York is 28-47 and headed back to the lottery. 

“To be honest with you, I’m gonna have to go at my old coach, Phil Jackson,” Pippen said. “I think he just hasn’t put the right pieces on the floor. I give a lot of credit to Carmelo, who has been very professional in getting through this 82-game season, and now he’s being benched to some degree -- they’ve taken a lot of his minutes away. But this team really just hasn’t had it, and they haven’t had it since Phil Jackson landed there.”

Fellow panelist Tracy McGrady then laughed and yelled, “Yes, Pip!”

Pippen continued: “There has not been any upside to think that the New York Knicks were gonna be a contender, and I just feel bad for Carmelo having to go through this and having to deal with it, but he got a great contract, so ...”

After saying that Knicks fans would love to see Anthony outlast Jackson, Pippen was asked if he thought Jackson should be pushed out. “Yes,” he replied. 

Jackson has taken all sorts of criticism for the way he’s handled Anthony, his insistence on running the triangle offense, his inaccessibility, his major trades and free-agent signings, the team’s defensively challenged roster, and poor chemistry, among other things. I’m not sure, however, that I’ve seen one of his former colleagues hit him like this. Pippen didn’t hesitate to blame Jackson, and he directly said Jackson shouldn’t have the job anymore. That must hurt.

As for Jackson’s future in New York, it doesn’t look like he’s going anywhere. In December, it was reported that he had no plans to opt out of his contract this summer and, in fact, might want to sign a new deal in 2019. In February, Knicks owner James Dolan said repeatedly that he intends to honor his agreement with Jackson. Unless one of them has a change of heart, Jackson will remain in charge, regardless of what Pippen or anybody else has to say.