Phil Jackson Speaks On Carmelo, Kobe, and MJ In Q&A
When Phil Jackson returned to the NBA for his front office job with the New York Knicks, he didn’t just inherit the struggling legacy of his former team, but his next superstar to be molded in Carmelo Anthony. Jackson coached two of the best shooting guards in history in Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, both of whom came up in his recent Q&A with The New York Post’s Steve Serby.
Jackson also touched on The Wizard of Oz, group-think, Steve Kerr, his lack of an immediate vision for a Knicks championship, and more, but here was his response to a question that linked his new superstar with his old ones,
Q: Is Kobe Bryant the model for Carmelo Anthony?
A: No. No one can approach that. I don’t expect anybody to be able to model their behavior after that, although Kobe modeled his behavior a lot about Michael Jordan, but he went beyond Michael in his attitude towards training, and I know Mike would probably question me saying that, but he did.
Certainly says something about the regard in which Phil Jackson holds his former player. The two endured plenty of changes and growth together in Los Angeles. The triangle offense, which showed Michael and Kobe great success on the floor, is another popular subject pertaining to Carmelo Anthony this season,
Q: How and why will the triangle offense make Carmelo a better player?
A: It’ll give him opportunity to be a passer, a rebounder, and probably easier spots to score from than he’s had before. I think. I hope that’s true for a lot of the players.And that’s where Carmelo’s gonna move forward this year in that situation — the ball can’t stop. The ball has to continually move. It moves, or goes to the hoop on a shot or a drive or something like that. In our offense, that’s part of the process of getting players to play in that rhythm.
Carmelo is a scorer no matter what system he plays in, but his volume and also his teammate’s effectiveness is in question while adapting to the triangle. The post-oriented offense is made to create easier looks with harder cuts and balanced spacing.
Q: Is Carmelo on board with this?
A: All we talked about in our negotiation was, “I’d like not to have to feel like I have to carry the load to score every night.” He wants some help.
The Zen Master will do all he can for his new superstar.
