For 45 minutes the Knicks’ newly-organised trio of leaders – team president Steve Mills, general manager Scott Perry and coach Jeff Hornacek – sat on a stage and did not say one thing to make the franchise shudder.
If that sounds like a low bar, well, that’s what 17 seasons with one playoff series win and a reputation for comic ineptitude will do for you. There were no short-sighted arrogant shots delivered at Carmelo Anthony.
There were no digs at the young face of the franchise, Kristaps Porzingis. There wasn’t a declaration of a championship. And no one said that tickets are worthless with a Sam Hinkie/Sixers tank job on tap.
From the carefully scripted introduction from Princeton-educated Steve Mills to the heartfelt shoutouts to family by Perry, the only new face in the bunch, to Hornacek’s emphasis on an entirely different approach on the court, it was hard to argue with anything that was said.
And perhaps that’s because not much was actually said in the long session. Phil Jackson, relaxing in Montana, is not in the room anymore.
The biggest elephant in the room for the Knicks’ front office is Carmelo Anthony, who remains in limbo. After 18 months of poking and prodding by Jackson, he finally acquiesced to the waiving of his no-trade clause to accept a deal to Houston.
With the naming of Perry as the new GM, a fresh face who was not part of the digs directed at Anthony, the Knicks have taken a reset on the talks that had not come to fruition.
While there was talk of a pause, Anthony’s side has not given any indication that he is now willing to turn back and join forces with this group.
“I’m not going to look back on what happened with Carmelo and Phil,” Mills said. “What I know is that I’ve been in communication with Carmelo and his team following the season. I think we will be a good developing team if Carmelo is part of the team. We’ll be a good developing team if he isn’t. We’ll be in constant communication with Carmelo and his camp and we’ll come to some resolution that works well for both us.”
Makes sense, right? There was no blog posted by an old college buddy of Mills or a friend of Perry’s discussing the inadequacies of Anthony. There were no formal declarations of war. And in those simple steps this group took a step ahead of Jackson’s reign over the organisation.
But can they actually move forward as they repeatedly stressed in this session? The summer wasn’t exactly without a bizarre whiff that fits right in among the sordid history of the franchise, even without Jackson’s fingerprints on it.
There was the selection of the lottery pick, Frank Ntilikina, that was left in Jackson’s hands, just days before he was fired. Mills said he was on board with that. There was the $71 million contract doled out to Tim Hardaway Jr. by Mills, which Perry said he applauded from long distance. There remains the status of Porzingis, who skipped his exit interview and still has not found peace with the team – although Mills said he has spoken to him, “Two or three times,” in addition to a, “hectic texting relationship.”
And as they sat there Monday afternoon there was no indication yet that anything has changed other than Jackson being relocated from his grim visage peering from 10 rows back at Madison Square Garden to a lakeside stroll in Montana.
Mills is one of the longest-serving front office executives at the Garden, having his seat moved a few times in a nearly two-decade stay. James Dolan is still the Madison Square Garden chairman, although he has stressed that he will be hands off, just as he was when Jackson was team president.
But Jackson is the only departure so far. Will Perry be able to be his own man? He and Mills spoke about their long-term friendship and mutual respect. That’s wonderful, but will Perry be able to make the moves that need to be made to shake this franchise out of the downward spiral it’s been caught in?
“I’m going to give Scott the room to make basketball decisions and make recommendations to me,” Mills said.
“He’s going to have a chance to manage the coaching staff, manage the scouting staff, and make recommendations as to where we should go as a basketball organisation. I think we’ll be partners in that in the sense that he’ll come to me with his recommendation and we’ll debate it back and forth. But at the end of the day, I’m giving him the room to make those decisions.”
If that sounds like the Knicks remain an Escher painting brought to life – one comment directly contradicting the prior one, a stairway leading up to a basement – well, that’s exactly the way it always is. Maybe this is a kinder, gentler version – but a better one? That remains to be seen.
Mills stressed that the goal is a younger, more athletic team. Hornacek said that hustle and defense will be the lynchpins of this team. Perry insisted he won’t look back, instead working on ways to push forward.
It’s all refreshing to hear, unless you are a long-time Knicks watcher who wonders if talk of culture change and new regimes sounds awful familiar. If Perry can change it his arrival will herald a new era. If not, he will find himself grouped with the likes of Jackson, Glen Grunwald, Donnie Walsh and the rest who were brought in and saw that there is nothing so ingrained as the Knicks’ culture.
“Culture is what we do on a daily basis, and we have accountability, that we have organization, that we have a shared vision and focus in everything we do – whether it’s scouting or meeting or going to evaluate prospects or observing practices,” Perry said.
“We’re going to be consistent in everything we do. And above and beyond, let’s have fun doing it together.
“And I think we have to make sure everybody checks their egos and agendas at the door, and when we come in this building, we’re going to be united as one. We can agree to disagree internally but when we get done going through our own processes we’re going to be together every step of the way.
“And that’s the exciting part of it for me. And I think Steve is part of that. And again, I got to know Steve over the years and I’ve come really respect his basketball acumen but also his business acumen.”
Mills, seated next to Perry, added, “And I think for us the accountability part is not just about the front office, it’s what can the players expect from each other I think there needs to be a clarity in the message we send to our players, what we expect, so they know what they can expect from us and each other.”
That would be a change.
Carmelo Anthony
