The New York Knicks have suffered throughout this wretched 82-game season, but life gets better everyday. Carmelo Anthony had his knee repaired and should return in time for a productive training camp.
The Knicks will have a top pick for the first time in years — with Duke center Jahlil Okafor, Kentucky center Karl-Anthony Towns, Ohio State combo guard D’Angelo Russell or point guard Emmanuel Mudiay all staring them in the face.
Depending on what happens in free agency, Okafor or the dynamic Russell make the most sense. Knicks head coach Derek Fisher believes the high draft pick — along with the triangle offense — will make the Knicks frontrunners to land any top star on the market.
“That’s kind of the beauty of the system. You don’t have to build around one position or player,” coach Derek Fisher said after practice in Tarrytown on Monday, when the Knicks prepped for Tuesday’s 7 p.m. Garden game with the Kings. “You actually can find ways to just get the best basketball players that are available to you and utilize all those different skill sets to your advantage.”
None of those stars will be Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant — but Fisher said the system works.
“We’re not looking at our system as if we have to have that prototypical, dominant point guard,” Fisher said. “We don’t have to have the ‘New Era Wilt Chamberlain.’ It’s really just putting together a team that has the right balance. The best players always help that. We have one, and we’ll see what we can do as we go forward.”
This is definitely shaping up to be an interesting summer. Can the Knicks return to relevance in a matter of two warm summer months?