The No. 4 overall pick used his length to his advantage on the defensive end and displayed the soft shooting touch that made the Knicks covet him in the draft. “He’s looking to have the best season of his career”.
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“That moment, I wasn’t really focused on the boos out there”, Porzingis said Monday from the Thomas and Mack Center on the UNLV campus. But from previous year to now, there’s been a considerable difference concerning how and when the players rely on the system to score.
Clarence Gaines, Phil Jackson’s top adviser, was so enamored with Kristaps Porzingis, he thought the Knicks should take the 19-year-old if they won the lottery.
Anthony hasn’t spoken publicly since the Knicks revamped their roster, signing Afflalo, Robin Lopez and Derrick Williams and acquiring Kyle O’Quinn in a sign-and-trade. Even in the bad East, and even with a healthy season from Carmelo Anthony and various veteran helpers being added via free agency, the Knicks would still have a tough go of making it out of the Eastern cellar and into the postseason during 2015-16.
“They made me a priority on what they felt I could do offensively and defensively, ” Afflalo said to Berman. That’s not what I’m doing. We’re going after solid players that step into vacuums and play ball.
Afflalo, who has a player option for the second year of his deal, will be a very important part of the Knicks next season. “He’s a combination of Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Durant”. He has offered some encouragement in limited minutes.
If you follow the National Basteball Association in any capacity, you’ve likely heard about the supposed demise of the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks. He never seemed rushed. We had talked to him the longest.”Jackson isn’t wrong, and Monroe wasn’t wrong to choose Milwaukee”. “He is interesting to watch, and the growth will be interesting to see”.
Afflalo said he was interested in playing only for the Knicks. Afflalo said the Knicks “didn’t have to do too much recruiting”. Anthony repeatedly said last offseason that he “believes in Phil”. How this all comes together is still a mystery for us. We’ve got five months to kind of get into it here. “[Phil] hired me to coach, so I have to do what I think is best for these guys, and we’re going to evolve in that fashion”.
What Anthony and many of those booing fans failed to accept on the night of the draft – as Jackson passed on more well-known college prospects such as Justise Winslow, Frank Kaminski, or Willie Cauley-Stein – is that the Knicks aren’t one, or even two, players away from contending. And for us, we can’t get caught in trying to hurry up and be great.
“We need to win…be a competitive team”, he said. If Anthony fails to make New York a postseason contender, however, it will be another uphill battle in free agency. Jackson wouldn’t dispute Monroe’s decision.
Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com reports LaMarcus Aldridge, DeAndre Jordan and Greg Monroe were among the marquee names linked to New York when free agency began. “That’s the right place for him”. “Active team. He’s a young guy”. “I don’t know if we win 30 more games”.
Phil Jackson weighed in on the subject, stating that the Knicks’ inability to attract big-name free agents has nothing to do with a dying brand. “Be a competitive team”.
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“I think it’s going to be good”, he said. “He’s doing everything we’re asking of him to do”. Jackson considered those “long shots” and understands what it will take to become a popular destination again. The reward for showing patience with both could wind up being more satisfying than simply silencing a few boos from a cantankerous crowd.
