ADDRESS THIS MESS
Issues Knicks’ Mills, Perry need to tackle
Perhaps it was just the usual press-release rhetoric from owner James Dolan when he announced Steve Mills as president and Scott Perry as general manager Friday, but there seemed a series of digs aimed at the departed Phil Jackson.
Almost mimicking Jackson’s press conference from three years, four months ago, Dolan stated that “today marks a culture change for our organization where we reestablish the pride, work ethic and responsibility that comes with playing for the Knicks.’’
Yes, Jackson’s main theme that day in March 2014 was “changing the culture.’’
Rarely traveling with the team or scouting college games live, the detached Jackson changed the culture for the worse, recording three straight losing seasons. The Knicks turned into a running soap opera even while out of the race in each campaign by March. When the Zen Master alienated both of his two stars in Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis, Dolan reneged on his commitment to give Jackson two more years to dig himself out of a crater.
That leads to Monday at the Knicks’ Tarrytown compound for a2 p.m. press conference introducing Mills and Perry as the faces of a new hierarchy taking on a mess. Here are the five questions/ issues the duo must confront:
1. Where did Phil go wrong?
Jackson’s camp is already gossiping that Mills’ presence didn’t allow for the vast culture change the Zen Master envisioned. Mills and Jackson were a good match in that Mills did all the dirty work and stayed on top of agents/opposing general managers. According to insiders, Jackson’s biggest failure, in Mills’ eyes, came when he agreed to hire Jeff Hornacek as coach and then didn’t let him run his offense full bore — demanding a full-blown triangle movement a week before the All-Star break with the Knicks floundering. That will never happen under Mills’ leadership and sources say Hornacek has full reign.
2. Where does Carmelo Anthony’s future stand?
Mills and Perry still are eyeing youth, athleticism and defense. Doesn’t sound like Anthony, 33, fits into that vision, does it? Mills said in the release his “strategy is to build our team by developing young players, emphasizing athleticism, length and defense. We have several rising young stars in the organization and we expect to add more young talent to this core. Our message to our fans is clear: We will be disciplined in sticking to this strategy.’’
Rumors the Knicks are attempting to convince him to stay are exaggerations. With Houston trade talks at a roadblock, Mills and Perry plan to meet with Anthony, take his temperature on how desperately he wants out and investigate if he would expand his wish list beyond Houston/Cleveland. If not, the Knicks could seek a commitment from Anthony to become a mentor to the youngsters for one season since they are opposed to waiving him.
3. What is the plan to make amends with Kristaps Porzingis?
Hornacek said he would look into heading overseas to watch the European Championships and visit Porzingis, who starts training camp for Latvia this week and is relieved with the Jackson firing. Perry is known for his strong relationships with players. It makes perfect sense for the new general manager to take a trip to Europe and visit his three new players — Porzingis, Willy Hernangomez, playing for Spain, and Mindaugas Kuzminskas (Lithuania).
4. Why was Scott Perry considered the GM fit and how much power will he have?
Mills’ first run as president/GM came with no experienced righthand man. Mills leaned on assistant GM Allan Houston, who then was a novice. True, Perry made a host of bad moves in Orlando as second-in-charge to GM Rob Hennigan and got canned in April, but he’s well-credentialed and hailed for Sacramento’s prosperous offseason. Mills is Perry’s boss, has final say on all moves, but he will provide Perry more clout than he’s had in any organization and latitude to reassess the scouting department.
5. Were Tim Hardaway Jr. and Ron Baker’s pacts fiscally prudent?
Mills finally will explain why he needed to go as high as four years, $71 million for Hardaway. Obviously, the Knicks were convinced by agent Mark Bartelstein the Hawks might match if they came in too much lower. After losing out on Dion Waiters, Mills became desperate and decided to make an investment into a 25-year-old they consider on the rise. The twoyear, $9 million Baker package is still a mystery Mills needs to address. The Knicks may have simply miscalculated the market when they came to an agreement for the room exception ($4.3 million). Worse, if Baker, a solid defender and team guy, develops significantly, he can opt out after the first year. It’s doubtful Mills foresaw Raymond Felton/Jeff Green types signing for veteran minimums. Most executives considered Baker a minimum signee.