Kurt Rambis has said he is focused on winning as many games as possible with the best team possible. His New York Knicks veterans know better and have intervened.
According to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, three Knicks veterans approached Rambis to push him to give some of their minutes to young players in the name of future development.
Carmelo Anthony was behind the idea, and was joined by Robin Lopez and Jose Calderon in backing it.
“Those guys need to play, especially right now,” Anthony said. “They need to be out there, they need playing time, they need playing experience. You can practice and do drills and one-on-one things all day long but you only get that experience by playing in an actual game.
“I think it’s good for them, I think it’s good for the morale of the team, I think it’s good for their confidence. Because sometimes in a situation like this, you can lose your confidence. And that’s something we don’t want.”
Bondy notes that the Knicks’ locker room has been losing confidence in Rambis, according to sources, and this is a bid to get it back.
“I went to Jose and (Lopez) to kind of see what they felt, that whole idea of, ‘If you’re playing 35 minutes, how about 30 minutes?'” Anthony said. “Kind of spreading the minutes out and letting guys get other opportunities out there. And they were all for it. Then we went to Kurt and talked to Kurt about it. I’ve never done that. I’ve never been in that situation. Like you said, usually it’s the coach saying ‘We’re going to cut your minutes down coming down the stretch’ and saying, ‘We’re going to give other guys opportunities.’
It’s somewhat alarming that the players had to intervene to make this happen in what is clearly a lost season for the Knicks, and just further evidence of an apparent disconnect between Rambis and the players.
