Three Years Later and the Knicks are Still Trying to Implement the Triangle Offense

By Djack

When Phil Jackson was hired in 2014 to be president of basketball operations for the Knicks he has been persistent about one thing since day one, running the triangle offense. A move not many were a fan of since it hadn't been run since his time in LA, and it was becoming an outdated system. Regardless, Phil Jackson wanted the Knicks to run the triangle offense, so he acquired Jose Calderon because they didn't need a real PG in that system, and he thought the magic would work just like that. It didn't, Phil fired Derek Fisher after a year and a half of no improvement, realistically Fisher just wasn't being the puppet that Phil wanted him to be, so he fired him. The rest of the 2015-16 season was a waste with Rambis as coach, clearly proving in a short amount of time as interim head coach that he's completely incompetent. Then, after the season they moved on from Rambis and hired Jeff Hornachek. A hiring I really liked at the time since what he did in phoenix with so little talent was very impressive. What I failed to take into account was Jackson's ability to strip down everything a coach does. Phil demanded some form of the triangle be run, even though he went against his PG theory by trading for D-Rose, and this season has ended up being another huge failure. In 3 seasons the Knicks have not been able to establish the triangle offense whatsoever, they don't have the right personnel to run the triangle offense, and yet all I continue to hear about is this triangle offense.

Well, today Larry Brown, former Knicks head coach, said if Phil wants the Knicks to run the triangle offense so badly then he should be the one coaching. Larry I completely agree with you, if Phil wants to run his perfect little triangle offense then get your ass down to the court and teach it yourself. At the very least Phil should be at practice showing them how it's done or something, how can you expect Hornachek, who has never used the triangle offense in his coaching career, to teach the system to players without the expertise knowledge of it that Phil has. Phil doesn't want to do that though, so give up on the triangle Phil, do what's best for the Knicks future keep drafting good players, and don't screw anything else up, leave when your contract is up, and let the young core you drafted be the legacy you had with the Knicks. That'll be the narrative, yeah Phil was a pain in the ass most of his time in New York, but he drafted most of our young core that is building towards winning a championship. Porzingis and Hernangomez are the Knicks front court of the future, if Phil can draft a solid guard for the future with the Knicks upcoming lottery pick, just like that he put together 3/5th of the Knicks future starting lineup. 

The worst part about it is Phil hasn't even done his part by putting together the right personnel for the triangle, and there's too much roster turnover each year to keep the main core of guys used to playing in that system. For such a complicated system like the triangle it takes tons of time, trials, and tribulations to get accustomed to it, it doesn't just happen overnight. Patience is something New Yorkers don't have, so why try to run a system that takes a lot of patience before you start seeing results. Phil clearly listens to what the fans want, why do you think he brought in Rose, Noah, Lee, and Jennings because the fans wanted some splashes, and that's exactly what he gave you. Every Knicks fan was excited about this year, until they realized all the players that were signed were all way past their primes. Phil has been all over the place as an executive, only way his plan would've worked is if he stayed consistent about it, and helped implement the triangle offense himself. He did neither of those things and then wonders why the Knicks franchise is perishing.