Report: Knicks, Phil Jackson exercise 2-year option

The New York Knicks are committing themselves to two more seasons of The Zen Master calling the shots as team president.

The franchise and triangle enthusiast Phil Jackson agreed to pick up their option on the final two years of his contract "a while ago," sources told ESPN's Ian Begley and Ramona Shelburne.

The Knicks and Jackson had the opportunity to end their relationship following the 2016-17 regular season. An opt-out was built into Jackson's contract because he didn't want to work through a potential lockout, although the league avoided that by coming to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement in December.

New York finished the season 31-51, a full 10 games back of the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. This extended the team's playoff drought to four years, and put Jackson's record in three full seasons as president at 80-166.

Jackson is expected to meet with Carmelo Anthony over the summer to discuss the All-Star's short- and long-term future in The Big Apple. The Knicks sought to move the 32-year-old forward leading up to February's trade deadline, but to no avail.