Phil Jackson: I have free reign

NEW YORK -- Knicks president Phil Jackson believes owner James Dolan has been "forced to meddle" in basketball decisions in the past. But Jackson said he has received assurances from Dolan that it won't happen again as long as he's running the team.

Jackson said Sunday that he spoke to Dolan about having full autonomy to make basketball decisions before he accepted the job as Knicks president.

"I was point blank and honest with him and said, 'If I walk into your office or call you up on the telephone and tell you that I want to trade X player who's an All-Star or Y player who's the fans' favorite, if I think it's the right move, I want you to feel confident that I can do this, will you give me the liberty to do this?' And he said yes, and that's really the key," Jackson said while speaking at The New Yorker Festival in Manhattan.

Jackson's authority extended to the team's decision to re-sign Carmelo Anthony, according to the team president. Dolan told Jackson before he took the job in March that if Jackson didn't feel signing Anthony was the "right direction to go, then you don't have to sign him."

http://espn.go.com/new-york/nba/story/_/id/11691714/phil-jackson-new-york-knicks-james-dolan-meddle-decisions