Jackson: Knicks eyed Conley, but price tag was 'almost insane'

New York Knicks president Phil Jackson is tasked with making decisions that will influence his team's politics, and he's not shy about his opinions on how to run the sovereign state of Knicks basketball.

Asked about the "gamble" trade for Derrick Rose in June - which saw New York receive Rose, Justin Holiday, and a second-round pick from the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Robin Lopez, Jose Calderon, and Jerian Grant - the "Zen Master" said the team initially had another centerpiece in mind.

"Mike Conley was the best choice as a free agent, but he's making $30 million a year. That's almost insane," Jackson told ESPN's Jackie MacMullan of the Memphis Grizzlies star. "We saw that was going to happen. We had the opportunity to play with Derrick and see if he does have enough left in the tank - he's 27 years old - before we have to get into that (free-agent) market again. It gave us an opportunity to build a team around him, Carmelo, and Kris (Porzingis)."

Jackson explained that the tandem of Joakim Noah and Rose was appealing because of their knowledge and chemistry, and the fact that the two were "both coming back into playing form." The Knicks signed Noah to a four-year, $72-million contract in July.

Asked to elaborate on his comment about the veterans' form, Jackson told MacMullan: "I think players get that back again but in a different format. They may not get back to 95 percent but they can be 90 percent with the knowledge of how to play, which gives them an advantage to know when to turn it on."