George Karl: Knicks Can Build Around Carmelo Anthony

From 2005 to 2011, George Karl was the head coach of the Denver Nuggets. During that time, he helped develop the player who now stars for the New York Knicks: Carmelo Anthony.

According to Ian Begley of ESPN New York, Karl believes that New York needs to acquire a great point guard to properly complement its star scorer.

Beyond that, he doesn’t think they need much more.

"“I would go get a great point guard and then find some good big guys. I think you have a stud scorer [in Anthony] — get me a brain, get me a quarterback and then fill in the pieces with maybe second-tier big guys,” Karl said in an interview with ESPN New York on Tuesday morning. “The efficiency of big men in this league, there’s only about five or six of them.”“We had the most success when we had Andre [Miller] and/or Chauncey [Billups] — when we had a point guard that kind of orchestrated the rhythm of the offense,” Karl said. “And I just think, I’ve said for two years now, I think the NBA is a lot like the NFL. You get a quarterback and a good coach and you win games. And then the other pieces, you figure it out. I think Melo is still top three, top four, top five. I don’t know, some people put him in the top three. I personally wouldn’t put him in the top three. If he has a good orchestrator, he’s going to be a helluva scorer for you.”"

It’s a fair point.

Anthony and Karl experienced great success with Chauncey Billups and Andre Miller running point. The Nuggets reached the 2009 Western Conference Finals, albeit in a season in which ‘Melo scored less while improving his range as a shooter.

Anthony had his best season in New York with that approach, as well.

The Knicks didn’t have an elite point guard, but their 2012-13 success was heavily influenced by their direction on offense. The system has been ridiculed, but Jason Kidd and Raymond Felton helped facilitate a sharpshooting barrage.

The end result: Anthony won the scoring title and the Knicks set the all-time NBA record for 3-point field goals made in a season with 891.

Most importantly, New York won 54 games.

Tyson Chandler and J.R. Smith—by Karl’s definition, second-tier stars—helped to provide the supporting fire. Anthony, meanwhile, improved his shooting percentages across the board and closed out games with a killer instinct.

The question on Karl’s mind is how Anthony will adapt to the Triangle Offense.

"“Carmelo is a very bright basketball IQ guy, so the triangle is going to be different for him. I think it can enhance some of his skills and I think he’s going to have sacrifice some of his commitment to playing the way maybe he’s played in the past,” Karl said. “But I’ve never seen that resentment there. I think people at times harshly judged Melo because a scorer at times does look selfish. But I can’t complain. Melo helped the Denver Nuggets when I was with them win 50 games consistently.”"

Karl reiterated that statement, per Begley, and made his belief clear: the Knicks can build a contender around Carmelo Anthony.

"On Tuesday, Karl said there was no question the Knicks could build a winner around Anthony. The key, Karl said, is to make sure Anthony doesn’t feel the need to be as ball dominant as he has in the past.“[The Denver Nuggets] were a 50-win team because of Melo, and [the Knicks] were a 50-win team here at least one year. So that’s a sarcastic criticism of a guy that can score and at times looks a little bit selfish,” Karl said when asked if it is difficult to build a winner around Anthony. “Melo knows how to play basketball. He’s very aware of the aspects of defense and rebounding and passing. It’s just his forte, probably his passion, is to score. But he knows how to play, so if you put a team [around him] that he has to be a little less dominant [with], I think you’ll find that he’ll be very, very ready for it and very happy to have it.”"

Whether you agree or not, that’s the question of the hour.

As the Knicks prepare for the 2015 offseason, there’s a realistic possibility that this will turn out to be the biggest summer in franchise history. There’s both mountains of cap space and what projects to be a Top 5 NBA Draft pick coming New York’s way.

Regardless of how Phil Jackson chooses to allocate his resources, one question will be answered: can the Knicks really build around Carmelo Anthony?

Weigh in by using the comments section below.

Next: Phil Jackson spent two days scouting the Kentucky Wildcats. Is Karl-Anthony Towns coming to the Knicks?

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