Let’s say you are an executive in your first full season in charge of an N.B.A. team. You did not expect to be good right away and you have relatively few long-term commitments. Before the season, you predicted a playoff appearance and figured you would build from there.

Instead, you find yourself at the helm of perhaps the N.B.A.'s second worst team. Your prized triangle offense is not being adopted quickly, your fan base seems horrified by the losing and your signature superstar, whom you just resigned to a five-year, $124 million contract, suddenly has a bad back, a bad knee and an ambiguous attitude in terms of adopting said prized triangle offense.

Welcome to the world of Phil Jackson, the Knicks’ president.

In today’s N.B.A. it is not in vogue to struggle through a bad period and try to become better. The name of the game is “blow it up and start again,” and if Jackson decided he wanted to take that route, it would be hard to argue that hanging on to Carmelo Anthony was a step in the right direction.

There are complications, of course, should Jackson want to rid himself of Anthony, even beyond his exorbitant salary and physical maladies. The superstar small forward has a no-trade clause and a bonus in his contract that calls for a 15 percent raise if he is traded, and he is unlikely to accept a deal to any team that he does not see as a good long-term fit.