Carmelo Anthony Is Here And The Triangle Offense Is Not
The New York Knicks front office members opened up to the media on Friday to answer questions pertaining the upcoming season. The majority of the questions were centered around Carmelo Anthony, and trade rumors have made a lot of noise in the last couple of days.
Despite recent trade rumors, team president Steve Mills told Ian Begley of ESPN that the plan is for Melo to be with the team for media day. Melo’s camp is “cautiously optimistic” that Anthony will be traded by Monday to the Houston Rockets. There was another trade rumor that suggested the Portland Trail Blazers is the likeliest team to land Melo. According to Ryan Nagelhout of DimeUproxx, one ESPN reporter said it has a great chance of happening over the weekend.
Anthony remained professional throughout the summer. Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek told Begley that Anthony will have the same major role. However, the 33-year-old made it known that he wants to compete and doesn’t have any business on a rebuilding team.
Carmelo Anthony is expected to start the season with the Knicks, after all https://t.co/0KUULhY3ZD pic.twitter.com/nbhgeY8fcC
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) September 22, 2017
The Knicks offense could look different whether Melo is on the floor or not. The reasoning behind that is because the triangle offense is out of the playbook. Former team president Phil Jackson sabotaged New York’s season by installing the triangle system in the early part of the season. The triangle offense caused confusion and unexpected play on the floor.
Hornacek told Newsday that the Knicks would be playing an offense the players prefer, which means no triangle offense. In addition, Hornacek noted that this needs to be the year Kristaps Porzingis steps up. Porzingis is improving his game, but he isn’t moving as fast as the other young stars in the league. Porzingis still has some areas in his game he needs to improve on, including posting up smaller players, bettering his IQ, making the smart decision, and being more than just a shooter.
Even with the weakened eastern conference, the ultimate goal is still a long shot in the East. The Knicks lost Derrick Rose, Justin Holiday, and possibly Carmelo Anthony, who were the main scorers on the team. New York still has a long way to go to satisfy one of the biggest fan bases in sports history.
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