This is no snow job. Phil Jackson’s fire sale three weeks ago was the best thing to happen to the development of Knicks rookie coach Derek Fisher.
With no pressure to make the playoffs, Fisher seems more confident, more content to coach a roster of players who bring more professionalism, smarts and hustle to their jobs than before. More like Fisher — and for that matter, Jackson — was as a player.
Samuel Dalembert, who has not been picked up by a team, was waived to save money and open up a roster spot for point guard Langston Galloway, who is in negotiations for a complicated new contract with his second 10-day expiring Tuesday.
The removal of J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert in the three-team deal with Oklahoma City and Cleveland paved the way for gritty defensive forwards Lance Thomas and Lou Amundson, also nearing the end of their 10-day deals.
These are the kind of unheralded, lunch-pail, hustle guys Fisher wants to coach and were key in the Knicks’ recent three-game winning streak.
It makes you wonder when free agency hits, with all the cap space the team has, if the coach would be happier if Jackson goes after a bunch of second-tier, tough-minded overachievers such as Wesley Matthews, Paul Millsap, Draymond Green and Greg Monroe rather than superstars like Marc Gasol or LaMarcus Aldridge.
Fisher, whose Garden match against Sacramento on Monday was snowed out, gave a fascinating response a few days ago when asked the most surprising part of his new job.
“Probably what jumps out the most is you still have to work pretty hard to motivate and inspire guys at this level,’’ Fisher said.
You couldn’t help but think Fisher was referring to some of the guys who were gone — Dalembert, Smith and, to a lesser extent, Shumpert, who could never be accused of having the highest basketball IQ for all his gifts.
“Now they’re at least competitive,’’ said Charley Rosen, one of Jackson’s longtime friends and biographer. “The young guys have more motivation to make a full commitment to the triangle than the end-of-the-contract-year guys who are now gone.”
Fisher also may be pointing to suddenly revived Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jason Smith. The remark showed Fisher was naïve when he took this job, thinking NBA players on guaranteed contracts were going to be supercharged for all 82 games.
Fisher talks about the basketball IQ and new mentality the new players have brought, making a statement Saturday in Charlotte that talent is not everything.
Fisher said the Knicks had plenty of talented names in training camp but added: “It’s not really a question of talent. It’s how guys blend that talent and how well you become a team and work together, and sometimes being OK not always showing your talent by putting the team before you. That’s what becoming successful is all about for us. We definitely want talent, need talent. We’ll have chances to add it. It still comes back to character and integrity and how they’re sacrificing for the good of the team.”
Fisher couldn’t have said those things in London. Even in their 76-71 loss in Charlotte on Saturday, when Carmelo Anthony rested to make sure the Knicks didn’t lose too many ping-pong balls, the group is playing with grit now.
Jason Smith looks like he’s playing on three cans of Red Bull, invigorated with two former mates on his side in Amundson and Thomas. He’s even shooting 3-pointers. Amundson and Thomas have added energy on defense and are playing smart roles in the triangle.
Amundson’s save of a loose ball behind the baseline, flinging it to Hardaway for an open jumper in Charlotte, epitomized what Jackson wants this team to be.
“They’ve been helpful to our group to bringing a certain mindset each day,’’ Fisher said.
The fans who want the Knicks to “lose more for Okafor’’ to gain more ping-pong balls are off base. Part of the mission of the final games is getting Fisher to believe in himself as a coach and getting the league’s players to realize you can win with the triangle with the right dedication.
Even if Galloway, Thomas and Amundson aren’t around next season, these games matter.