Knicks president Phil Jackson swears that offseason signee Sasha Vujacic is much more than a legacy play.
Jackson, who coached Vujacic in Los Angeles for six seasons, winning back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010 along the way, hopes that the Slovenian guard will be instrumental in schooling the Knicks young guns about the finer points of the triangle offense.
“Having played for me in L.A., Sasha knows the triangle and can help our off-guards get the hang of playing on top of the floor,” Jackson said in a story by ESPN’s Ian Begley on Thursday.
“Of course, of course,” said Vujacic echoing the Zen Master’s sentiments. “I was always someone that helped players on the court. We have a lot of rookies and a lot of younger players –- I still consider myself young by the way -– so we have a great mix of guys and I’m looking forward to teaching them and giving them help.”
“It’s a proven offense. It’s an offense that won not only games but championships,” the 31-year-old continued. “Obviously you need to have players that can mold into that offense and to follow it and I think that our personnel right now is very excited.”
He might have his work cut out for him, however. In a modern landscape where small-ball, pace-and-space offenses have engrossed the league, Vujacic will probably have a much harder time in 2015 catering to Jackson’s fantasy of the triangle still being an effective system than he would have in, say, 2010. After all, the Knicks flailed their way to a nightmarish 17-65 record last season with many of their players looking as lost in the triangle as Homer Simpson at a vegan festival.
Nonetheless, with one of the foundations of the triangle offense being quick but calculated trigger-fingers, the sharpshooting Vujacic should still prove an incredibly useful tool for Jackson’s offensive vision.
While he might not have quite progressed to Kobe’s level of higher-order triangular understanding, at least The Machine will make for a much better fit in the triangle than J.R. Smith.
H/T theScore
