Knicks to announce Phil Jackson joining front office

The New York Knicks will officially announce on Tuesday that Phil Jackson has accepted a top executive role in their front office, a league source told Yahoo Sports.

The Knicks announced Friday that they will "make a major announcement" with team executives at 11 a.m. ET Tuesday. The statement didn't mention Jackson, but a source said Jackson has decided to join the Knicks.

Jackson was taken in the second round of the 1967 NBA draft by the Knicks and played for the organization from 1967-78, winning titles with them in '70 and '73. Jackson won 11 NBA championships as coach of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, but never held an executive role with either team.

The Knicks announced on Sept. 26 that former executive Steve Mills had rejoined the organization as president and general manager, replacing Glen Grunwald. Mills' role and that of some other current Knicks' front-office employees could change with Jackson's arrival.

In addition, the Knicks could part ways with coach Mike Woodson after the season. The Knicks are 26-40 and are trying to stay in the hunt for the Eastern Conference's final playoff seed.

Jackson will arrive with a limited ability to make immediate change to the Knicks' roster. New York does not own a first-round draft pick this year and has a high payroll that is close to $90 million this season. All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony can opt out of the final year of his contract paying $23.3 million next season and test the free-agent market. Injury-riddled forward Amar'e Stoudemire has a player option paying him $23.4 million next season.

Jackson re-signed as coach of the Lakers following the 2010-11 season. He spoke with the Lakers in 2012 about returning as coach, but the team opted to instead hire Mike D'Antoni to replace Mike Brown.