Knicks president Phil Jackson made some comments regarding New York viewing free agents as the primary way it will rebuild the team, which lends some credence to the reports that Jackson was considering trading the Knicks’ 2015 lottery pick, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. “In the present day in the NBA, 19, 20 years old, coming into league, it’s really hard to project what that player will be like in his first contract situation,’’ Jackson said. “So what we’re trying to do what advancement can be made in the short term. How quickly we can get back in the hunt and right away to [compete] for the championship? We know what the first-round pick will mean to us, but we also know we will build the team on free agents. We have 190 players or so who will be free agents. That’s where our priority stands.’’
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Jackson did indicate that he would be willing to be patient with the growing pains of developing a lottery pick, Berman adds. “You get movers and franchise players from the draft,” Jackson said. “We’re rebuilding this team. You have do it that way.’’
- The Knicks’ president also relayed that the team isn’t looking to bring in 10 new bodies next season, which means a number of players who aren’t under contract for next season could be re-signed, Berman tweets.
- When asked to assess the state of the Knicks, Jackson admitted the season was a lost one, Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com relays (Twitter link). “It feels like it’s a project gone awry,” Jackson said. “This is where we wanted to be at the end of the year, not in the middle of the year.“
- The Knicks are hopeful that Carmelo Anthony will resume training this June, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com tweets. The timetable ‘Melo was given at the time of his surgery in February was that he would be out for four to six months, and the June time frame would be on the early side of that prognosis, Begley adds.