NBA Rumors: Carmelo Anthony Approves Of New York Knicks Hiring Jeff Hornacek Because Of Kristaps Porzingis
NBA rumors are swirling around Carmelo Anthony. According to the New York Post, he approves of the New York Knicks hiring Jeff Hornacek as their new head coach. It’s because Anthony feels that Hornacek has an offensive scheme that will put the focal point on Kristaps Porzingis.
Phil Jackson shocked the NBA this week. He decided that Jeff Hornacek was going to become the next head coach of the New York Knicks. The move comes as a surprise because Jackson was adamant about finding someone that was already familiar with the Triangle Offense and would commit to running the system with the Knicks. Hornacek has no experience with that.
Once Jeff Hornacek had been hired by the New York Knicks, all eyes turned on Carmelo Anthony. The star forward has been vocal over the past couple of weeks about wanting to be involved in the head coaching search. Phil Jackson has kept him out of the loop. Anthony reportedly has approved of Hornacek,
For years, Carmelo Anthony was viewed as a very selfish player in the NBA. He’s matured over the past season. Anthony now puts his teammates ahead of himself, both on the court and in the locker room. He reportedly approves of Jeff Hornacek because he wanted the New York Knicks to find the right coach for Kristaps Porzingis.
Carmelo Anthony wants to see Kristaps Porzingis being more involved on offense. Last season, the six-foot-eight, 230-pound forward decided to get his teammates more involved. It was a smart move because it enabled Anthony to receive less attention from opposing defenses in the NBA. It made him a more efficient offensive player.
The offensive system that Jeff Hornacek utilizes should prove to be quite beneficial towards Kristaps Porzingis. It encourages players to shoot the ball faster and more frequently. Three-point shooting is something that is definitely encouraged by Hornacek. Porzingis should see himself launching more shots from the perimeter.
Another thing that the offensive system requires is constant attacks by the guards. That means that Phil Jackson will need to focus his efforts during free agency on finding guards that can penetrate the lane and hit shots from the outside. That should open up the floor for both Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis.
According to the New York Daily News, Carmelo Anthony was never really on board completely with the Triangle Offense that Derek Fisher and Kurt Rambis ran with the New York Knicks last season. Jeff Hornacek is reportedly not required by Phil Jackson to stick to the scheme. That should please Anthony quite a bit.
Another thing that Carmelo Anthony was not too pleased about last season was the fact that Kurt Rambis started to limit Kristaps Porzingis on offense once he took over as the interim head coach of the New York Knicks. Anthony is hoping that Jeff Hornacek stays true to his word about letting the Latvian forward loose on that end of the floor.
Jeff Hornacek has a chance to build on his legacy by developing Kristaps Porzingis into an All-Star player. He has the potential to become one. Hornacek knows that there are a lot of people who doubt him because of what happened with the Phoenix Suns. Some are concerned that his relationship with Markieff Morris got to the point that it did.
Even though he has yet to coach a game for the New York Knicks, Jeff Hornacek has already notched a huge victory by winning over Carmelo Anthony. It really helps a head coach in the NBA when the franchise player is their side. It makes a lot of other things fall into place.
[Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images]
