New York Knicks: Jeff Hornacek says Knicks are evaluating, not tanking
Even during the New York Knicks’ fifth consecutive losing season, head coach Jeff Hornacek is focused on developing players to start next season on the right foot.
Ever since Kristaps Porzingis’ season ended against the Milwaukee Bucks on Feb. 6, any ambitions of making the playoffs have been lost. After the All-Star break, Jeff Hornacek made that abundantly clear by removing Jarrett Jack from the starting lineup.
Wether you want to call it tanking or evaluating, Hornacek is coaching like he’s expecting to be around next season. Through the losses, he’s still pushing his players to fight and improve themselves.
When he sees effort lacking, he doesn’t sugarcoat it and lets them know it’s unacceptable. The motto has to been to learn from the mistakes, put the past in the past, and continue to grow.
The younger players on the roster are now receiving more playing time than at any other point during the season. The investment Hornacek is making in helping them take their game to the next level is one he hopes management also makes in him.
According to Chris Iseman of NorthJersey.com, Hornacek stated that the primary goal for the Knicks at this stage of the season is evaluating progress.
"“We still want to win games,” Hornacek said. “We want to see if our young guys can help us win games. That’s part of the evaluation process. It’s not like we’re putting them out there going, ‘Oh heck, if we put them out there we’re going to lose games.’ We still want to try to win but want to see if these guys can step up and help us win.”"
As the franchise continues to try to find its footing in a steady direction, team president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry surely must appreciate Hornacek’s commitment to getting players on the right track with an eye on the future.
As reported by Marc Berman of The New York Post, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Enes both expressed their approval of the job Hornacek has done. This should go a long way in management’s evaluation of Hornacek since they were the two biggest acquisitions by Mills and Perry in 2018.
Hornacek’s coaching has seemed to have especially rubbed off on Hardaway. Even during his massive shooting slump, Hornacek kept encouraging him to shoot. Since breaking through that funk, Hardaway has provided consistent energy on both ends of the floor despite the record.
This is indicative of his maturation and becoming more of a leader.
Hornacek has acknowledged how much of Frank Ntilikina’s development will hinge on his physical growth. This process could take a few years to come to fruition, so Hornacek is making a concerted effort to help Emmanuel Mudiay become the player many hoped he would already be.
Barring an offseason change of the guard, Mudiay will most likely enter training camp projected as the starting point guard. Thus far, the lack of conditioning and indecisive playmaking with a new team have hindered his contributions.
Expect Hornacek to constantly be in his ear helping him get over the hurdles. He’ll want Mudiay to achieve a comfort level with this team that should bring him confidence and motivation next season to prove he was worth trading for.
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Even though the losses will inevitably continue, it’s important that the team continues to build a camaraderie that should pay dividends towards building that culture the New York Knicks are so desperately seeking.