Baker on outside looking in without Hornacek
LAS VEGAS — A year ago, Knicks young guard Ron Baker sat atop the world, signing a shocking two-year, $9 million contract with the coveted room exception.
Off a promising Cinderella rookie year, he gained a reputation as a hard-nosed physical defender and became a prominent piece of the franchise’s young core.
Even though Phil Jackson brought him in for the 2016-17 season, his strongest backer was Jeff Hornacek, who saw himself in the undrafted Baker.
Baker still has his blond locks and surfer good looks, but a lot has changed in a year. The former Wichita State standout is in Las Vegas unable to play in summer league — still in the final stages of rehab after February’s shoulder surgery.
More importantly, he has lost his coach/friend in Hornacek. Baker has a guaranteed pact of $4 million for this season, but hardly has a locked-up spot on the 15-man roster.
The Knicks have 16 players under contract — one more than the max — and are exploring adding another veteran big. The guard positions are overstocked, especially if they can’t trade shooting guard Courtney Lee.
“I’m going into training camp confident,” Baker told The Post in his first public remarks since Hornacek got canned. “I’ll try my best to be in good shape, compete, do what I’m asked. Obviously, we’re over the roster limits. I don’t control that. I can only control what I can control — coming in every day, ready to work and being positive.”
Baker attempted to put a positive spin on Hornacek’s ouster, but his disappointment could not be hidden. Baker once said Hornacek was his “doppelganger.”
“After he got released, he gave me a call a week after,” Baker said. “Jeff being Jeff, he wished me well. Reaching out to me, one thing he said if I ever need anything, he’s there for me. That’s the kind of guy he was every day.”
Now Hornacek is gone amid management’s strong innuendos he didn’t connect well with all the younger players. And new coach David Fizdale is running the show with massive amounts of personnel input.
“The good news is I really like the staff that our front office has brought in, working with them the past few weeks,” Baker said. “They’ve bought into having a new culture and doing the right things and really want to hang my hat on that.”
During Sunday’s second summer-league game, Baker, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Trey Burke sat courtside with Fizdale, who sat between Hardaway and Burke. Fizdale was often seen animatedly discussing the action with those two players. Baker was on the outside seat. Perhaps it was just symbolism. Baker has been around all week hanging with the team while Hardaway and Burke just got to town.
The 2017-18 season was a se- ries of sophomore-jinx moments for Baker, who battled various injuries from training camp on. He suffered a broken orbital bone before a torn rotator cuff Jan. 30 ended his season. Baker played just 29 games.
“I tried my best to be around a lot this summer, working with our trainers, trying to get healthy, talking to coach, seeing how he coaches the team and trying my best to learn a lot by watching. I’ve done a lot of [watching] this year,” Baker said.