Derek Fisher wants to learn as much as he can from Phil Jackson.

But Fisher said Friday that there will be “boundaries” in his relationship with the Knicks’ president.

Translation: Fisher intends to do things his own way on the sideline.

The Knicks' new coach made that clear when he was asked about the idea that he'll be a puppet for Jackson this season.

“I guess that’s what people like to do in terms of making assumptions about the makeup of our relationship as we kind of embark on this new journey. We’ve been coach and player before. We’ve been friends. But this is a different environment. There are a lot of expectations for both of us in our respective positions and we both work very hard,” Fisher said. “We both love to be successful. We’re going to work hard at doing that. There will be some boundaries that we have to have within our relationship. But at the end of the day, Phil is running this department. I work for him and for this organization."

"At the same time, I’m confident in the job that I can do to help us go out on the court and be successful," Fisher added. "I’ll ask questions. I’m here to learn. I’m open-minded. I’m willing to improve every single day. But I’ve always trusted my instincts and my belief in who I am as a person and who I am as a man and I think I’ll be able to do some similar things as a coach.”

Fisher is a first-year coach, working under Jackson, who has won an NBA-record 11 titles as a coach. So it’s only natural for people to wonder just how much influence Jackson will have on Fisher this year.

That will be something to keep an eye as the season plays out. But Fisher stressed that he will be his own man on the sideline.

“I’m not Phil Jackson. That’s for sure. If there’s one thing you learn from this press conference, I am not Phil Jackson. I am not going to try to be or even pretend to be,” Fisher said. “I’ve for sure taken a lot of the basketball experiences and knowledge and life experiences and knowledge from working for Phil and with Phil for so many years. So there will for sure be some things that I will try and channel from Phil."

“At the same time I’ve learned a lot from other coaches, other men, other people that inspire me, other great leaders,” Fisher added. “Other great athletes, great people that I’ll also channel as I try to help this team and help these players and that’s my only goal. I’m not trying to be someone else. I’m going to be me and I think I can be me and do it in a way that’s consistent with who we need to be.”

For what it’s worth, Jackson said back in June that he has no intention of being heavy-handed with Fisher or trying to coach the team through him.

“I see [my] role simply as a guy who's willing and ready to offer support. Willing and ready to step in to a private session if need be and talk about alternative things that can happen on the basketball court,” Jackson said, in explaining that he had no desire to return to coaching. “I'm very willing to share what I have and that's why I'm here -- to kind of flesh out what I've accumulated over 30 years of coaching and [offer] what I can give back to this team and the game.”

Question: Do you think there will be any issues between Fisher and Jackson this season?

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