Charley Rosen, Phil Jackson’s longtime confidant, gave a recipe for what he would like to see the Zen Master do at Thursday’s draft.
Even if the two heralded big men, Karl-Anthony Towns and Jahlil Okafor, are off the board, Rosen still hopes the Knicks go big and consider taking Kentucky defensive specialist Willie Cauley-Stein. Rosen said the 7-foot Cauley-Stein would make a solid pairing with a free-agent center Jackson is going to strongly target July 1 — the Pistons’ unrestricted 7-footer Greg Monroe.
Rosen meets with Jackson every few weeks for an online mini-series recounting the 2014-15 disaster through Jackson’s eyes. He said he hopes Jackson trades down to nab a big man while netting another player for the rotation.
As for the speculation Duke swingman Justise Winslow could be the pick at No. 4, Rosen said: “What do they need him for? They need power guys more than they need him.”
The Knicks have no traditional big man under contract for next season. However, Jackson has indicated he may have to go with a wing or guard at No. 4. The Knicks will look harder to trade down if Okafor and point guard D’Angelo Russell, as expected, are off the board, and a team is looking to trade up for Kristaps Porzingis, of Latvia. There have been rumors the Suns, at 13, could dangle guard Eric Bledsoe.
Rosen believes Monroe would be a terrific addition offensively but could use an active defensive big man such as Cauley-Stein as a complement. Speculation is the Knicks could trade down for Cauley-Stein or excellent outside-shooting bigs in Wisconsin’s Frank Kaminsky and 6-10 Trey Lyles, of Kentucky.
“Greg’s got a lot of stuff going for him down there, the lefty thing — he’s a great fit,’’ Rosen said of Monroe’s low-post game. “As a big, all you need to do is rotate on defense. Greg can learn to do that, but Cauley-Stein, that’s what he does.’’
Rosen, Jackson’s assistant coach during his Albany Patroons tenure in the 1980s, isn’t enthusiastic about adding a point guard such as Emmanuel Mudiay. Rosen thinks Jackson’s disappointing addition last offseason, Jose Calderon, who will be 34 in September, is going to give the Knicks a lot more in the final two years of his contract. Calderon, who strained his calf in training camp, played in just 42 games.
“Calderon can still be great in the triangle,’’ Rosen said. “He can read [Carmelo Anthony] very well. The whole season he was injured.’’
Jackson’s presidential stint so far has been viewed as an unmitigated disaster, but he has the fourth pick and $27 million in cap space.
“People underestimate what a great evaluator of talent Phil is,’’ Rosen said. “He made the decisions in L.A., not Mitch Kupchak. Phil had to sign off on everything because he knew the triangle better than Mitch. You need a different type of player for it. It’s not necessarily the most talented player.’’
Rosen, who lives in upstate Ulster County, has been one of the triangle’s staunchest supporters, and it angers him to hear the critiques. Rosen said he felt the way the Cavs played in the Finals was the anti-triangle.
“Cleveland played streetball — 1-on-1 — everyone standing around,’’ Rosen said. “The triangle is basketball, guys. The naysayers about the triangle calling it outdated, it’s nonsense. The triangle is basic basketball and how it should be played, moving away from pressure, cutting, everybody’s always moving, pop, pop, pop. And you didn’t see much of it in the Finals.’’