The New York Knicks are hoping that a few players can step up this season given how few moves the team held to in the offseason. The Knicks were only able to pull off one marquee trade as they sent Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton to the Dallas Mavericks. However, Carmelo Anthony is confident that that single trade might be the Knicks' x-factor this season as he praises point guard Jose Calderon prior to the year beginning.
Calderon comes to the Knicks from the Mavericks as a true point guard, something New York did not have last season. Calderon is a definite upgrade from players like Felton or JR Smith who saw time at the position. Anthony is loving the new triangle offense run by Calderon and believes the two players can account for some big plays during the year.
"We got it," Anthony said, via ESPNNewYork.com. "It's not hard. Jose is a vet. He knows what he's doing. He knows how to play. It's not hard to connect with somebody like that. It's going to be a lot different in a good way with me just picking spots on the basketball court and kind of nobody knowing where I'm going to be on the basketball court. It's just a matter of me learning it a lot more and us as a team learning each other in this system."
A lot has been made about Calderon's position for the team. The point guard has faced some trade rumors as NBA insiders predict the Knicks might use him as a trading piece down the road with the bigger picture being a move for someone like Rajon Rondo, Ricky Rubio or Goran Dragic. It is no secret that Phil Jackson has 2015 as a priority offseason for the Knicks and might view Calderon as a one-year rental. However, the point guard's worth depends greatly on the season he has in New York and head coach Derek Fisher is confident that it can be a good one.
Calderon and Anthony are guaranteed starters for the Knicks, but the rest is up for debate. Fisher notes that he simply wants consistency with the lineup, not looking to be switching players every game like Mike Woodson. However, deciding between Iman Shumpert, JR Smith and Tim Hardaway Jr will not be easy. With nottrades in the work, Fisher is going to let this battle work itself out.
"I think I've been pretty frank with our 2-guard position being deepest in terms of three guys that have played minutes that have been out on the floor a lot," Fisher said. "All three guys are capable of starting or coming off of the bench. It's just going to more so depend on how our team rounds out, how the balance of five guys on the floor at the same time in our starting group as well as the guys coming off the bench how it fits into the team. So I didn't come into training camp with a decision made on the front end and I'm not coming in really looking at as though I'm trying to decide on that position."