ALARM & HAMMER
Childs: Defense-first Knicks can answer Nets’ offseason wake-up call
Chris Childs played his first two seasons with the Nets before signing with the Knicks for the glory years from 1996-2001.
The former point guard could never have imagined what has taken place in New York’s basketball landscape — the Nets beating out the Knicks for superstar free agents Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
“It should be a wake-up call for the Knicks,” Childs told The Post in a phone interview from his home in Jacksonville, Fla. “It should be a wake-up when you didn’t get the free agents you expect to get, especially when [Kristaps] Porzingis left and you think you’re getting a guy or two to come in to fill that and it doesn’t happen.”
After six straight seasons out of the playoffs, the Knicks open training camp Monday with modest expectations. Childs spent his years in Manhattan competing for championships.
“The city of New York always embraced me, so I’ll always root for them,” Childs said. “But it’s not good for the league. It’s not good for the league office to be in New York and the team is not good and free agents are going to Brooklyn instead of the Knicks as their first choice. I think over the years it doesn’t seem they have a definition of how they’re going to play on a nightly basis. A lot of inconsistencies.”
Childs spends time nowadays fishing and appearing as a guest at basketball camps and schools. He is looking to get into broadcasting, he said, because sharp opinions are hard to come by on NBA telecasts. Childs believes the ex-players-turned-broadcasters — aside from Charles Barkley — are too politically correct.
The former point guard who once came to blows with Kobe Bryant is surprised Knicks president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry have been mum since June 21 without a message to their fans.
“That has to come to come from the top,” said Childs, referring to owner James Dolan. “I don’t understand that. The fans are going to read what you write and draw their own conclusions, and that’s very dangerous. It’s weird.”
When management breaks its silence Monday, Childs thinks it should talk up an improved defense after seven free-agent signings. In new blood, which includes Taj Gibson, Marcus Morris, Bobby Portis and Julius Randle, Childs sees an old-school toughness like the Knicks he played for.
“I really like them defensively,” Childs said. “It seems like they got some tough, physical guys. I don’t think they’ll be getting up and down the court with them, but seems like they put together a tough team like the way we used to play. Like the old style of the late 1990s. I can see where they’re going. The big guys will mix it up.”
Childs also likes the defensive prowess of backcourt signings Elfrid Payton and Wayne Ellington. But the offensive key will be point guard Dennis Smith Jr. In a recent Knicks Fan TV podcast, Childs compared Smith to former Rocket and Knick Steve Francis, a three-time All-Star.
But Childs told The Post that Smith has a long way to go.
“I see Steve Francis,” Childs said. “They play the same type of game. On court he’s very explosive. He needs the right tutelage and has to study that position, learn how to lead a team. You don’t lead with scoring. You lead by example in practice and film study. You have to be the director out there. He has to start to accept: ‘I have the ball in my hands and can score anytime I want, but let me get my teammates involved and comfortable in the fourth quarter.’ ”
Childs doesn’t discount the Knicks as a playoff team in a weak Eastern Conference. He has five clubs as locks — Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Boston, Toronto and Brooklyn.
“I can see [the Knicks] squeaking in and be seventh,” said Childs, who still is “offended” he wasn’t invited to the Knicks’ 1999 Finals celebration two seasons ago. “Six, seven, eight can be anyone.”