Carmelo Anthony‘s former college coach, Jim Boeheim, believes that if ‘Melo had based his free agency decision purely on basketball reasons, then the Bulls would have been a better destination than the Knicks, writes Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. Boeheim said, “Just from a basketball point of view it would have been better to go to Chicago because they’ve got better players. But he wanted to be in New York and he wants to see if they can turn it around there. I think that’s a great thing.”
Here’s more from New York:
- Boeheim also believes that Anthony would have left if Phil Jackson hadn’t taken over as team president. Boeheim said, “I would think so. He stayed because he believes Phil. Derek Fisher, he knows the game. If you’re going to pick a coach who hasn’t coached, he would be the guy I would pick. I think he’s a great choice. I talked to Derek a little bit. I think he’s really smart. I think he’ll be a really good coach. I think they’ll show significant improvement this year. If they get a couple of guys down the road, I think they’ll be good.”
- The Knicks are adding Jim Cleamons to Derek Fisher‘s coaching staff, reports Al Iannazzone of Newsday. Cleamons had coached Fisher during his two stints as a Lakers assistant, and will help teach the Knicks players the triangle offense, notes Iannazzone.
- With a new head coach, and the team installing the triangle offense, it’s not clear what starting lineup the Knicks will take to the court with. In a separate article, Begley examines some of the possible combinations that New York could utilize.