Jeff Hornacek is finally admitting to perhaps New York’s worst-kept secret.
With his team eliminated from the playoffs, the New York Knicks head coach received questions about free agency on Friday and was asked if he thought that the triangle offense was a “hang-up” for potential targets last offseason.
“I think it probably was,” replied Hornacek, per Ian Begley of ESPN. “I think we truly believed that we could blend it [into Hornacek’s preferred offense]. And we found out that probably wasn’t great.
“Most of the teams, if you look around the league, play the same way. There’s not a lot of difference in how teams play,” he continued. “It’s getting certain guys, with their abilities, to put them in those positions [to succeed].”
Hornacek, who is in his second season coaching the Knicks, spent his first year in charge trying to blend his own offensive principles with the triangle at the behest of former team president Phil Jackson. The experiment failed badly though, and the Knicks went just 31-51 in 2016-17. This year, Hornacek has moved away from the triangle with Jackson no longer working for the organization, but the damage to his reputation may have already been done.
In any case, the Knicks have actually been even worse this season at 27-49, so prospective free agents this summer might still look the other way regardless.
