For the New York Knicks, patience hasn’t been a virtue as of late.
The team has struggled the past two seasons, with a record of 45-110. They also fired head coach Derek Fisher last month and their star player, Carmelo Anthony, appears disgruntled. With whom has the blame been placed on? Team president Phil Jackson. One knock fans are putting on Jackson is his reluctance to find adequate talent to play alongside Anthony. It’s talent at the point guard position that is lacking, according to fans and critics. If you ask Jackson, he says it’s not a necessity.
Via ESPN:
New York Knicks president Phil Jackson said he won’t be obsessed with finding a star point guard, in part because the triangle offense hasn’t required one.
“Chasing a point guard, where it becomes just an obsession, isn’t necessary. It’s not necessary. We can play the game without that,” Jackson said Friday at Staples Center.
Jackson pointed to the success that the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers had running the triangle; neither franchise relied on a ball-dominant point guard during his tenures as coach.
“We went to a two-guard format, and I think we were successful at it,” he said. “I think we caught a lot of people in the league by surprise because of the way we played. So it works, and we know it works.”
Development is Jackson’s forte, from Scottie Pippen to Kobe Bryant. Although he hasn’t developed a star point guard, he has developed great all-around floor generals.
Jackson noted that the Knicks will try to develop their guards from within. He mentioned Tony Wroten, whom they expect to sign in the coming days, as one player who could add depth at the position.
“Our process is going on [and] it’s a little underground, a little beneath the surface, but this is one of our desires, that we have to have a penetrator and we have to have somebody that can handle those roles,” he said.
