Phil Jackson‘s undying obsession with the triangle offense is starting to become evident to the young NBA prospects coming into the New York Knicks facility for pre-draft workouts, as North Carolina forward Justin Jackson quickly got wind of.
“It was more teaching than all the other ones,’’ the young forward told Marc Berman of the New York Post during a phone interview. “With the triangle and the other types of offenses they run, I would say it was a little more mental than physical.”
The 22-year-old felt he aced that test.
“I picked it up pretty easily — everyone picked it up as time went on,’’ Jackson said. “That helped a lot as far the workout, going into different actions. For me it was just basketball, making plays and reads.”
“Phil [Jackson] stepped in a few times to say what he wanted to see, but it was mostly coach [Jeff] Hornacek running the workout.’’
The Knicks are in a guard-heavy search due to the imminent departure of point guard Derrick Rose and the many questions of depth with three relatively young guards in Chasson Randle, Ron Baker, and Justin Holiday — leaving only one veteran in starter Courtney Lee.
Regardless, Justin Jackson is a versatile forward that can play both ends, a trait that can definitely help an ailing defensive team that ranked sixth-worst in the league during the regular season.
“I’m hearing my range is 10 to 20,’’ Jackson said. “I’ll let the people who make the big decisions see where I am. My agent has heard the rumors of the Knicks trading down but who knows.’’
New York has tapped into potentially acquiring one of the Portland Trail Blazers‘ three first-round picks, which it could use in combination with its eighth overall selection to draft the two-way forward in the middle of the first round.
“I love their movement and unselfishness,’’ Jackson said.
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