Jackson was asked in the interview with WNBC-TV if he thought it was “realistic” to think the Knicks could make the postseason in 2016-17. And that’s part of Phil (Jackson) and Steve (Mills) and myself and having the input of Carmelo and his influence of trying to get a couple more star players here.
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“You name it, we’ve got it, basically”. Three years ago. With franchise player Carmelo Anthony getting old, the team is desperate to surround him with players who can help him win an National Basketball Association championship. The Knicks are not being completely clear about how much emphasis they will put on the triangle offense with Hornacek in charge, and they are aware that they are battling the perception that Jackson is meddling.
“The 3-point line has become our affection, because it means more when we make a 3-point shot. So the spacing has changed dramatically”, Jackson told ESPN, but did not go into specifics.
Jackson provided some much-needed clarity through this telling quote, which doesn’t always happen as he often twists his words that end up being conjecture. If he feels that way about Kurt Rambis, who he played with for all of two and a half seasons, good luck to him.
The Knicks and will continue to run the triangle under new head coach Jeff Hornacek, though Hornacek says that he plans to mix in some of the elements of the offense he ran with the Phoenix Suns as well. “And I used them, too”, said Sloan, who had a terrific long-running relationship with assistant Phil Johnson in particular.
Rambis was given serious consideration for the Knicks’ head-coaching vacancy, but the club ultimately made a decision to hire Hornacek, leaving Rambis’ future with the team in limbo. The other day, Jackson was talking about the Knicks team that won 54 games and the Atlantic Division – and a playoff series against the Celtics – under Mike Woodson and described that team as “decent”.
With that said, NY could solve a lot of their issues this summer in free agency.
“In this game, you’ve got to be a good passer”.
We’ve talked about this at great length here, but it’s refreshing to hear that Jackson and Melo are on the same page and they are thinking about specific weaknesses in the backcourt. “We really try to emphasize passing ability of the guys, and hopefully it’ll lead to some easy buckets”.
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ESPN.com was the first to report the contract talks. Either way, waiting to sign would be helpful because his new contract would replace a small $2.7 million cap hold when they match.
