New York Knicks: Brandon Jennings Comments On Triangle Offense

Brandon Jennings left the New York Knicks to play for the Washington Wizards. He offered his take on what went wrong with the triangle offense.

In a season that went from hopeful to shameful for the New York Knicks, searching for the next person to place the blame on has become a daily process. Brandon Jennings was optimistic upon his arrival in New York, but found himself befuddled with the Knicks operating out of the triangle, as well as their overall communication within the organization.

In the ever continuing saga of triangle offense debates, the system continues to be an issue of ever-growing mystique and wonder. Yet, it’s praised by some.

Brandon Jennings was able to post consistent numbers for the Knicks earlier this season. He performed with a special kind of energy and attitude that fired up an inexperienced bench.

In a year that should be recognized as Jennings saving his career after rupturing his achilles tendon back in 2015, Jennings averaged 8.6 points and 4.9 assists in 24.6 minutes per game with New York.

Although his downside can prove to be costly with a turnover to steal ratio of 2:1, he still managed to post quality numbers in a rebound season.

What seemed questionable to some, or even shocking and appalling, now comes as no question as to why Jennings requested a chance to play for a playoff contender. He now holds a spot on the roster of the Washington Wizards.

According to Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News, Brandon Jennings gave his take on what seemed to be a team going through an identity crisis and offered his thoughts on the triangle offense.

"“I think what just happened was they were just going in a different direction. I wanted to play fast. I didn’t really understand the triangle,” Jennings said. “I think that was my biggest thing. I really didn’t understand it. I’m not saying it doesn’t work. I just felt like the way the game is being played today, I just felt like you got to score. You got to score. You got to get up shots. When I came to New York, I wanted to put on a show every night. I wanted to put up shots with nice passes and things like that. So I guess it just wasn’t the right timing”"

Concerns And Complaints

The impact of these comments will remain to be seen this upcoming offseason. It may be another factor in determining where young talent and free agents alike may avoid moving to.

Jennings was ecstatic and motivated to join a franchise in the New York market, and it only took a matter of four months to his one’s motivation and desire to play for this team. You may want to take caution in proceeding with future negotiations.

It seems the Knicks and Phil Jackson have no intention of dropping the current course of action, or having a plan to replace the upcoming contracts they have expiring.

Per Bondy, Jennings would put former teammates on notice with his view of the day-to-day disruptions and confusion within the organization—even while the Knicks looked promising early in the season.

"“It was just different. Every day it was just something different,” Jennings said. “It was just like, if we could just stick to what we could do, we’ll be fine. So at times, you’d just come into practice and you didn’t know what was going on.”“Guys could never really find their shots or find their rhythm. So it was like, something’s wrong with that. You have Derrick Rose who can get to the rim with ease and score. But even he was out there lost. That’s how I looked at it. I looked at it that he didn’t know what was going on. KP, he was trying to come into his second year trying to find himself, and he couldn’t really find a rhythm either. So it’s definitely difficult.”"

Although these may be tough words to swallow, this may be something the already tortured New York fanbase needed reaffirmation on, so we can spare pulling our hair out for the rest of the season.

Not all is doom and gloom, though. There remains no bad blood between the former teammates and home crowd favorites, Kristaps Porzingis and rookie sensation Willy Hernangomez

"“That’s who they should build a team around, those two,” Jennings said.” That’s just my personal opinion because they’re very young, they’re very good. I mean, Willy, in a couple years, he’s going to be probably one of the best big men. He reminds me of Marc Gasol.”"

Jennings has seen a steep decline in his numbers since his departure from the Knicks, although it seems to be all for the best. With the Knicks focused on their new point guard prospect, Chasson Randle, they seem to be on the cusp of a complete rebuild.

Must Read: Sleeper prospects to watch during the Sweet 16

In the rebuild, the New York Knicks will continue to run the triangle offense.