The last time he was at Staples Center, Phil Jackson sat about 10 rows behind the Knicks' bench, next to GM Steve Mills. At one point, he was shown on the giant video screen above the court, accompanied by the theme from "Welcome Back, Kotter." The fans on hand gave Jackson a long, loud ovation.

The Knicks president smiled and waved, presenting a picture of tranquility.

If Jackson attends Sunday night's Knicks-Lakers game in Los Angeles, a similar scene may play out: Jackson smiling and waving to an adoring crowd.

One wonders, though, if Jackson would get the same reaction these days in New York.

Judged purely on wins and losses, Jackson deserves a round of applause for the moves he made in the offseason. The Knicks are off to a promising 13-10 start, with some of Jackson's offseason acquisitions playing pivotal roles.

Start with Jeff Hornacek. The first-year coach has successfully blended an offensive approach that includes plenty of high pick-and-roll with players spread on the perimeter, along with a dose of the triangle offense.

Phil Jackson's Knicks are 13-10 after Friday night's win; only three teams in the East have better records. Adam Hunger/USA TODAY Sports

The approach has allowed Derrick Rose and Kristaps Porzingis to play mostly to their strengths and has produced the NBA's 12th-best offense. For the most part, Hornacek has mixed and matched his lineups and personnel brilliantly.

One example: He hasn't felt obligated to play Joakim Noah big minutes to justify the four-year, $72 million contract the Knicks gave Noah in the offseason.

Hornacek wasn't Jackson's first choice as head coach, according to sources. But the team president certainly deserves credit for hiring the right guy.

Other Jackson acquisitions have played above expectations as well: His recent back ailment aside, Rose has otherwise been healthy and productive, as evidenced by his 16.5 player efficiency rating. Courtney Lee has improved the Knicks' shaky perimeter defense and complemented Rose, Carmelo Anthony and Porzingis well on offense. Brandon Jennings has shifted his approach to fit the roster, taking a pass-first approach that has led to the highest assist ratio of his career.

Justin Holiday, who was acquired in the Rose trade, has given the Knicks productive minutes off the bench, as have Kyle O'Quinn, Willy Hernangomez and Mindaugas Kuzminskas. And Porzingis' development in his second season has been promising, to say the least. All those players were brought in by Jackson.

Of course, Jackson's biggest acquisition, Noah, hasn't performed to expectations. He has admittedly been inconsistent in his first two-plus months in New York. Some scouts around the league say it's too early to count Noah out. But, at the very least, Noah's first 23 games as a Knick give the team reason to be concerned about the length and amount of his contract.

But the team that Jackson put together appears to have enough talent to make the playoffs for the first time since he took over as team president in March 2014.

Perhaps more than anything, though, a few off-court issues have complicated things for Jackson and the Knicks -- and the genesis for those issues was Jackson himself.

Let's start with LeBron James. No matter where you stand on the use or connotation of the word "posse," fallout from Jackson's using the term to describe James' friends isn't good for New York in a bottom-line sense.

One of LeBron's close friends is Rich Paul, an agent and the founder of Klutch Sports, which represents several top NBA players (including James). As long as Jackson is president, it's hard to imagine the Knicks landing a Klutch client in free agency if that player is choosing from a group of suitors.

And then there's Jackson's recent comments about Anthony, which were made during an appearance on the CBS Sports Network earlier this week.

On the show, Jackson was responding to a question from panelist Lisa Leslie, who asked if there is a "conflict of interest" having a player like Anthony in an offense that requires frequent ball movement.

This was Jackson's response: "He can play that role that Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant played. It's a perfect spot for him to be in that isolated position on the weak side because it's an overload offense, and there's a weakside man that always has an advantage if the ball is swung. Carmelo a lot of times wants to hold the ball longer than -- we have a rule: If you hold a pass two seconds, you benefit the defense. So he has a little bit of a tendency to hold it for three, four, five seconds, and then everybody comes to a stop. That is one of the things we work with. But he's adjusted to [the triangle], he knows what he can do, and he's willing to see its success."

Jackson's critique of Anthony's tendency to hold on to the ball too long isn't unique. Plenty of NBA analysts have given similar takes over the years.

But it's different when a team president delivers this criticism of his star player publicly, rather than behind closed doors. That was Anthony's message when talking about the issue on Friday. He also said he wants to keep any negativity away from the Knicks at a time when they're playing well. Others in the organization felt the same way, with one questioning what Jackson's public comments are doing to help the Knicks win games.

So what does all of this add up to?

In the worst-case scenario, Jackson has upset his star player and one of the top agents in the NBA. Anthony said on Friday the issue is "over" as far as he's concerned. But no one around the team would describe Anthony and Jackson as best friends, and it's unlikely that Jackson's critique did anything to bolster their relationship. But even if this all blows over and the Knicks continue to progress, Jackson's comments still have created a sideshow and taken the focus away from what the story should be right now: For the first time in a long time, the Knicks are playing solid basketball, and Jackson's moves -- not his words -- have been a driving force.