National Basketball Association

New York Knicks: Walt Frazier Dishes On The Triangle Offense

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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New York Knicks legend Walt Frazier voiced his opinion on the triangle offense. His advice: either win as a team or lose as agenda-driven individuals.

The New York Knicks are attempting to modernize the triangle offense under head coach Jeff Hornacek. He’s not running the system as his exclusive means of generating offense, but it’s still a prominent factor.

The criticism of the triangle offense has been ubiquitous, but legendary point guard Walt Frazier’s take on the matter strays from the typical response.

Frazier didn’t support or condemn the triangle offense when asked for his opinion on the polarizing system. Instead, he implored those running it to commit to one another and execute as a team.

Per Michael Salfino of The Wall Street Journal:

Players can do whatever they want them to. It’s a matter of swallowing your ego, being a team player, doing what’s best for the team to be successful. If the players want the triangle to work, it will work. Sharing means caring. Hitting the open man. Sharing the ball.

“If the players want the triangle to work, it will work,” is about as neutral and fair a take as you’ll find on the matter.

A coach can draw up flawless schematics, but it won’t translate to success if the players aren’t willing to execute. That’s why the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA and the New England Patriots in the NFL have been so willing to part ways with high-quality players.

If a player’s ego overtakes their willingness to play for the team, then their value will depreciate.

See: Stephen Jackson and Wes Welker as examples of gifted players whom said organizations willingly parted ways with after successful seasons.

The Knicks don’t have to follow in the Spurs or Patriots’ footsteps, but they should play as a team. There’s a significant measure of talent spread across the roster, but no member of the starting five has won an NBA championship.

In an era dominated by advanced metrics and team basketball, it’d be hard to justify any one player going rogue and placing their personal gain over the goals of the team.

Having established that, Frazier appropriately compared the triangle offense to the system that the Knicks ran during the 1970s—the only decade during which the Knicks have won an NBA championship.

It is rooted in the way our teams played. There were no prima donnas. And that’s what [Hall of Fame Knicks coach Red] Holzman did: “If you don’t play as a team, you’re not going to play. Move the ball. Hit the open man.” And every player on the team believed in that philosophy. No one cared if they scored, they cared if we scored.

Rather than playing as five individuals, the Knicks need to play as a team.

It’s worth noting that the members of New York’s current starting five have won a combined zero NBA championships. Thus, while there may be an intriguing level of individual talent, going solo hasn’t worked for any of these players in the past.

Whether or not the triangle offense is the right system for the Knicks to run, it’s hard to argue against what Frazier is saying.

It’s not about if one member of the Knicks can score a certain number of points every night. It’s about if the Knicks score as a team.