During the New York Knicks’ coaching search, word got out that Carmelo Anthony wanted Phil Jackson to hire David Blatt, which was probably code for “just hire somebody who isn’t Kurt Rambis.” And now that Jackson has gone in an unexpected direction by bringing on Jeff Hornacek, Melo is on board, according to ESPN.com’s Ian Begley:
“I played against him a couple of times when he was the head coach out there in Phoenix,” Anthony said in an interview Saturday with WNBC-TV. “Everybody knows he likes to play an up-tempo pace of game, likes to get out in transition, likes to speed the game up a lot. So from that standpoint, I’ll definitely be looking forward to that.”
Perhaps more importantly, Anthony said Saturday that he believes Hornacek gives the Knicks a chance to turn things around. The club has missed the playoffs in each of the past three seasons.
“It sets the stage for us to do that,” Anthony said. “[It’s a] new opportunity, something new to play with, something fresh, a clean plate. So hopefully we can build off of this momentum.”
In addition to Hornacek’s offense being a good fit for Melo and Kristaps Porzingis, the most encouraging part of the hire is that Hornacek has no previous ties to the Knicks or to Jackson. The widespread fear among Knicks fans was that they would simply hire Rambis (generally accepted to be a terrible NBA head coach by everybody in the world except for Jackson) because of his willingness to run the triangle.
That Jackson went outside his inner circle and picked who he felt was the best candidate available is a good sign for the future of the franchise.
Jackson still has lots of work to do now. Hornacek’s offense was successful in Phoenix in 2013-14 (when the Suns won 48 games) because of a dynamic two-point guard lineup involving Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe. The Knicks’ two starting guards, as of now, are Jose Calderon and Sasha Vujacic. But massive upgrades are needed all over the roster, everywhere except Melo and Porzingis.
There’s still a good case to be made that the best thing for the Knicks long-term would be to trade Anthony, but he’s been consistently adamant that he won’t waive his no-trade clause. His apparent excitement about Hornacek won’t change that at all. He’s seemingly in New York for the long haul, which makes it a positive sign that he’s in on New York’s new head coach.
(ESPN.com)
