See whether you can follow this timeline:
1. Knicks president Phil Jackson stated his commitment to the triangle offense entering the 2015-16 season.
2. Jackson in a December interview published today, via Charley Rosen of Today’s Fastbreak:Today’s players simply lack the skills to play the triangle. They know how to play one-on-one, catch-and-shoot, and they’ve mastered crossover dribbles, spins, playing off of screens and step-back shots. They don’t know how to execute things like inside-reverse pivots and other basic footwork. They have no sense of timing or organization. They don’t really know how to play five-on-five basketball. It’s strictly generational.
That’s why Fish {Derek Fisher} wants to uptempo the offense. And why he spends a half-hour before practice doing lots of skills work.
3. Jackson fires coach Derek Fisher, who -- according to interim coach Kurt Rambis -- resisted the triangle.
4. Jackson said the Knicks would continue to run the triangle and even ran a triangle camp for New York players.
5. Jackson hired Jeff Hornacek, who has little triangle experience, and said the new coach wouldn’t have to run the triangle.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Maybe Jackson, relying on his December thoughts, finally changed his mind about the triangle. Maybe he believes players can still be taught triangle skills and actually plans to have Hornacek use the system.
Or maybe the Knicks are just rudderless.