In Phil Jackson, Knicks owner James Dolan found the perfect fall guy: The static triggered by Derek Fisher’s dismissal proves that in Phil Jackson, James (Guitar Jimmy) Dolan has found the perfect media scapegoat — Big Chief Fall Guy. Jackson is worth every cent of the $12 million per Dolan is paying him to run the Knicks. -- New York Daily News
Seraphin, buried on bench under Fisher, looking forward to new opportunity: With Derek Fisher out of the picture — or at least the picture not involving an international vacation with Gloria Govan — Kevin Seraphin is looking forward to showing he’s better on the court than the bench. The center was an early benefactor of the coaching change in Kurt Rambis’ debut this week, playing more minutes (15) than all but two of his previous 32 games. -- New York Daily News
After Derek Fisher firing, can James Dolan trust Phil Jackson to pick Knicks next coach?: James Dolan interfering isn’t always a bad thing. The Chairman of Madison Square Garden had an animated meeting with Knicks president Phil Jackson concerning the state of the club just six days before Jackson fired Derek Fisher, according to a source. -- New York Daily News
Porzingis is star of All-Star Weekend — and he’s not even All-Star: Kristaps Porzingis arrived at his first All-Star Weekend of what could be many. He attended the team meeting Thursday night for the World Team, which will face the America-born squad in Friday night’s Rookie-Sophomore extravaganza. -- New York Post
Rambis proves the anti-Fisher in speaking Jose Calderon reality: Knicks interim coach Kurt Rambis headed back to Los Angeles to see his family over All-Star Weekend. Rambis’ wife, Linda, stayed back in Los Angeles, a marketing employee of the Lakers, when Rambis accepted the Knicks associate-coaching job before the 2014-15 season. -- New York Post
Derek Fisher wastes no time cozying up to Matt Barnes’ wife: Now there’s no pesky training camp to get in the way of Derek Fisher spending time with Matt Barnes’ wife. -- New York Post
Kristaps Porzingis’ rise to NBA star rookie has family ties: Kristaps Porzingis posted a picture on his Twitter page on Thursday afternoon that featured the Knicks rookie with the four most important people in his life flying to Toronto to share the NBA All-Star Weekend experience. -- Newsday