To say that the New York Knicks had a rough offseason would be a vast understatement. Which is why they have been one of the most surprising teams of the 2017 NBA season.
Among all the notable headlines, the one at the top was the ongoing, public feud between then-President of Basketball Operations Phil Jackson and former Knicks superstar Carmelo Anthony. During a Q&A with Steve Serby of the New York Post, shooting guard Courtney Lee discussed his opinion on Jackson's critiques of his former teammate at the time:
Q: What was your view on Phil Jackson criticizing Carmelo Anthony the way he did?
A: These 15 group of guys are your brothers, these are dudes you’re battling with, and you never want to see your brother go through a lot of the stuff that Carmelo had to go through. As a professional, he handled it the best that anybody could handle it. He didn’t let it get to him. He continued to go out there and play. He continued to show up every day in practice and work hard.
Lee came to New York after signing with the utmost optimism that this team could potentially be a serious contender in the Eastern Conference. When it became evident that was not happening, Lee and the rest of his teammates were vocal about their support of Anthony.
Needless to say, the departure of both of the former household names has done wonders for the Knicks. Despite all the distractions over the summer, New York has managed to remain a shade above .500 a quarter of the way into the 2017-18 NBA season.
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