Ex-Knick assistant calls Sessions ‘a great get’
Anthony will emerge to host The Basketball Tournament on Tuesday
During Dan D’Antoni’s three-plus seasons as a Knicks assistant coach, and even back in Phoenix before the 2007 NBA Draft, he lobbied for Ramon Sessions.
D’Antoni is long gone and now head coach at Marshall, his alma mater, but Sessions is finally a Knick.
D’Antoni, Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni’s brother, has known Sessions since he was 12 years old when he played for the AAU program he ran in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Sessions, 31, agreed to terms on a one-year veteran’s minimum deal at $2.1 million Friday — or eight years after former general manager Donnie Walsh once offered him a four-year, $24 million package. The Post first reported the Knicks’ interest in Sessions last month.
“We were trying to get him with the Knicks back then,’’ D’Antoni told The Post. “We were trying to establish that [speed-ball] offense in New York. And when [he] came out in the draft, we [Phoenix] had the 29th pick. I told Phoenix they ought to take him, he’d be in the league a long time and he’d run our offense better than a lot of people. They didn’t do it.
“He’s an extremely good person and an extremely good for creating pace for offense and reading the floor if they open the floor a bit.”
That’s Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek’s plan. As head coach in Phoenix, Hornacek attempted to duplicate Mike D’Antoni’s pioneering attack. With Phil Jackson’s triangle dead and buried, Hornacek wants to recreate the Suns’ offense.
No longer in the heart of his prime, Sessions missed the final 31 games with a torn meniscus last season for Charlotte, which declined his team option of $6.2 million. It was the first significant injury of his career and he finished the season with disappointing numbers.
Sessions averaged a career-low 16.2 minutes, 6.2 points (second-fewest of his career) and 2.6 assists (a career low). His field-goal percentage (38 percent) was second-lowest of his career.
Still, the Knicks chose Sessions over Derrick Rose and younger up-and-comer Donald Sloan, who may replace Sessions in Charlotte, according to a source.
Seeing the floor was the problem Hornacek had with Rose, who often barreled to the basket, head down, without seeing open teammates.
“He’s a very knowledgeable basketball player who understands,’’ Dan D’Antoni said. “He’ll be a great fit, a great pick-and-roll guy and keeping the floor spread and delivering pass in corners through penetration. And he knows how to throw the hockey assist, to keep the offense moving. He’s good at that. They got a great get.’’ marc.berman@nypost.com
The moment of truth has arrived for Carmelo Anthony.
Tuesday night, Anthony will be in a place he cherishes. Not Houston, but Baltimore, where he will host The Basketball Tournament — a month-long event that is down to its final four.
Keeping a low profile lately, Anthony will be front and center Tuesday at Coppin State, watching a Syracuse alumni team face two-time defending champion Overseas Elite in one semifinal.
In the other, Ohio State alumni, which features Nets target Jared Sullinger, play Team Challenge ALS, a Boston College squad fighting to raise money to support alumni Pete Frates who is suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease.
The Knicks’ 33-year-old recent recluse has yet to give an interview since the regular-season finale April 12 when he saw “the writing on the wall.’’ The indication was he knew the club wanted to rebuild without him.
In the next few days, Anthony will have a chance to speak his piece.
Phil Jackson is out as president, but the franchise’s strategy hasn’t changed much. A stalemate has ensued as sources indicate Anthony only wishes to waive his no-trade clause to go to the Rockets. Not even Cleveland, which is in turmoil, is good enough for Anthony as the Cavaliers are dealing with Kyrie Irving’s trade demand.
The Knicks’ management tandem of Steve Mills-Scott Perry claim it won’t trade Anthony to Houston unless it cobbles together a solid deal that makes sense for the Knicks’ future. Nothing has materialized.
In fact, a source told The Post the signing of veteran point guard Ramon Sessions partly was due to him connecting better with Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis than did Derrick Rose, who left for Cleveland via free agency.
Anthony has also dealt with the very public separation from his wife, LaLa.
All those issues swirl about as Anthony hosts the “TBT’’ that concludes Thursday. Anthony also will attend a charity event Wednesday with Catherine Pugh, the mayor of Baltimore.
The $2 million winner-take-all competition featuring former NBA and Division I players is in its fourth year. Anthony, ironically, engineered its move from New York to Baltimore for the semifinals and finals, which will be televised by ESPN. Anthony lived in Brooklyn until age 10 before moving to Baltimore.
“After years of watching TBT, I decided to get involved,’’ Anthony stated in a release. “It’s a tournament for people to live out their basketball dreams and that’s exciting to me. I’m a believer in chasing after your dreams no matter what. And that’s what this tournament symbolizes to me.
“Baltimore will always have a special place in my heart, and I’m excited to bring a tournament like this to this city. Basketball and Baltimore go hand in hand. The perfect match. A city that is all about determination. A city that helped build me.”
The nearby Wizards would seem an attractive destination for Anthony, but they just matched an offer sheet to small forward Otto Porter Jr. (four years, $106 million). The Post has reported the Knicks want Anthony to expand his wish list and Oklahoma City and Portland reportedly are interested.
Hooking up with his buddies Chris Paul and James Harden in Houston has become Anthony’s priority. Even the prospect of again playing for former Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni has not deterred Anthony, who rebelled against his speed-ball offense and reliance on Jeremy Lin, leading to the coach’s resignation in 2012.
Dan D’Antoni, the former Knicks assistant, told The Post on Monday his brother will be able to move on from the rancor in New York.
“There were a lot of things that went wrong, but Carmelo is a heckuva player,’’ D’Antoni said, now the head coach at Marshall. “All I’m saying is Mike’s a good person. He understands people change, things change. Two things you can’t deny: Mike’s a helluva coach. Carmelo is a very good player. If those two see eyeto-eye, Mike and I are always optimistic things are meant to be. The next day is going to be better than the day before.”