5 TRAINING CAMP STORYLINES
How will the post- Carmelo Anthony Knicks respond and 1 who will be the starting small forward? The soap opera came to a conclusion Saturday, when Anthony decided to open up his trade wish list to more playoff-contending teams and Oklahoma City took the plunge. Hence, the Carmelo Cloud has been lifted, but who will step up as leader and No. 1 scoring option? In their Melo haul, the Knicks got two 25-year-olds in center Enes Kanter and small forward Doug McDermott, neither of whom has reached his potential. Tim Hardaway Jr. also is 25 and never has been a leader. New management believed future assets were needed and Anthony’s leadership was questionable anyhow — addition by subtraction. But the leadership void will exist as will the starting 3, though Kristaps Porzingis now has No. 1 go-to guy in the bag. And let the battle begin with Courtney
Lee and Michael Beasley — if Hardaway is the lock at SG. The distraction alone of not having Anthony could help. After blowing off his exit meeting, it is back to reality for 2 Porzingis. He faced the music after his insubordination and now must live up to being The Man, with the Melo Era in the rearview. Porzingis didn’t approve of Phil Jackson’s managerial skills and treatment of Anthony, but Jackson is gone, as is Porzingis’ favorite assistant, Josh Longstaff. Porzingis will be under the microscope as he attempts to relate better to head coach Jeff Hornacek and top assistant Kurt Rambis, the latter of whom he has disliked since his rookie year. Of all of Jackson’s horrible moves, signing 3
Joakim Noah to a four-year, $72 million pact rates as the worst. Kanter and Willy Hernangomez likely will split the center job. Where does that leave Noah? Can he gain redemption after his first year in New York became an unmitigated disaster — poor play, a drug suspension, assorted injuries and shoulder surgery. Noah is eligible for preseason games but can’t suit up until Game 12 and instantly becomes a stretch-provision candidate in the near future.
Point guard is the Knicks’ 4 gaping void, partly because 19-year-old French lottery pick Frank Ntilikina may need more seasoning, especially after missing summer league with a knee bruise. It is likely either
veterans Ramon Sessions or Jarrett Jack, both coming off knee issues, wind up as openingday starter. But Ntilikina will get a chance — just as Porzingis did in training camp as a rookie and won the job. Despite finishing the season as starting point guard, figure Ron Baker will be more at shooting guard this season. For all the nauseating triangle talk, 5 the Knicks’ lackluster team defense was a bigger part of a 31-51 demise. Defense is all GM Scott Perry talks about — a refreshing change from Jackson’s harping on the triple-post offense. Did they add enough plus defenders to the roster? Certainly Beasley isn’t one, but Ntilikina is defense-first and $71 million man Tim Hardaway Jr., scouts say, has improved immeasurably on D since his first stint.