The NY Knicks are coming into the season with high expectations for Carmelo Anthony and the new triangle offense and Melo so far has liked the system and as the season progresses, Phil Jackson may look at trade deals with Iman Shumpert, Amar'e Stoudemire or Andrea Bargnani to help bring in better personnel if the offense starts off a bit shaky under Derek Fisher.
The Knicks are installing the triangle after Jackson took over as the top exec and hired Fisher and now he has Melo buying into the new offense as well. According to Pro Basketball Talk, Anthony said that he likely won't win the scoring title playing in the triangle and he meant that in a good way, saying that if the system is working right, he won't have to take as many shots as he did last season. Ian Begley from ESPN.com wrote about Anthony and he also added that Jackson may look at trades this year around the deadline with Shumpert (with his contract coming up) and with Stoudemire, as he has an expiring deal this season.
Anthony led the team in scoring in 2013 and was second to Kevin Durant last season, but this year it's likely that his numbers will take a bit of a hit in the new offense. Anthony said he had no issues with that, as he now will be taking more "effective shots" and while that may mean less scoring output, it could mean more wins for the Knicks. Even with the new offense, Anthony should still be able to put up numbers, as he is a very strong offensive player and even with less shots, he likely lead the team in scoring.
Last season and the year before Anthony really had no choice but to be the number one and sort of number two option, as the Knicks did not have much behind him. While the roster is not all that much better now, there is more depth and with Jose Calderon now at point guard the offense should run much better than last season. Raymond Felton was not good last year and now he has been moved and that should help Anthony get used to the new system. Anthon scored nearly 29 points per game while winning the title two years ago and over the past two years he has averaged over 21 shots per game.
The Knicks come into the season after winning just 37 games last year and now they are looking to bounce back and make the playoffs. The team had won over 50 games the previous season and now Jackson is in to overhaul things over the next five years and possibly beyond. Jackson has Anthony back for five and signed Fisher for five seasons and that gives him a chance to build.
The team may look at a deal with Shumpert at some point, as he is headed for free agency and needs a new contract. The Knicks have not engaged with him about an extension and that is likely because they want to keep cap space as open as they can for players like Monroe and Rondo. The team will likely let him hit the market as a restricted free agent and while they would like to keep him, they don't want to break the bank right now ahead of the summer of 2015.
