Phil Jackson bashes Bargnani, Larkin yet again

Phil Jackson must be bored this summer.

Sure he's made a lot of moves this off-season but what he's done most, it seems, is talk down about former players of his 17-win Knicks.

In the seventh and final edition of the "Phil Files," essentially a belated diary of the Knicks disastrous season as told to pal Charley Rosen, Jackson hammers both Andrea Bargnani and Shane Larkin, saying Bargnani faked injury to get out of practice.

"AB was and still is a big tease. When he was injured he refused to do simple non-contact activities like dummy our offense in practice. He seemed to be a malingerer and this had a bad effect on the team, and also on the way the Knicks fans reacted to him."

Then, with his lack of effort when he was on the court, calling Bargnani an "enigma" ...

"When he was on the court, he had a hard time staying intense, didn't hustle back in offense-to-defense transition, wasn't active enough in defending screen-rolls."

And of course, what would a Phil File be without mention of Shane Larkin. Jackson, who traded for Larkin and rejected to exercise his third-year option, told Rosen in the sixth edition, "Unfortunately, Shane hasn't grown any since the start of the season." Some attributed the issues to the triangle offense, including Larkin himself. Now, there seems to be other reasons why, according to the latest "file."

"His play did improve, but he's still a long shot to be back with us. He's incredibly quick but he doesn't use his speed the way he should. Shane mainly wants to get his shot off a high screen-roll situation when he should be pushing the ball and getting his shots in an open floor. Another problem is that he can't control the ball because he has such tiny hands. For sure, every team needs a small, quick guard, but there are a lot of guys like that available."

These negative words from Jackson should motivate the two for a bounce-back year. Let"s just hope that these "tiny-handed" players aren't a "big tease" for their new team.  Hey, when does that NBA schedule come out?

• The Phil Files, Part 7 - final evaluations - Charley Rosen - ESPN New York
• Phil Jackson says ex-Knick Andrea Bargnani was a 'big tease' - Matt Moore - CBS Sports
• Knicks prez Jackson takes digs at Nets' Bargnani, Larkin - Mitch Abramson - New York Daily News
• Phil Jackson hammers ‘big tease’ Andrea Bargnani - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
  
• Phil Jackson rips Andrea Bargnani: "AB was and still is a big tease" - Sean Highkin - NBC Sports
• Phil Jackson: Shane Larkin has "tiny hands", Andrea Bargnani is "a big tease" - Devin Kharpertian - The Brooklyn Game