Jackson stands by triangle, says Knicks don't need top-flight point guard

In his impromptu "State of the New York Knicks" media address Friday in Los Angeles, team president Phil Jackson stood by his position that the franchise doesn't need a high-level point guard.

"Chasing a point guard, where it becomes just an obsession, isn't necessary," Jackson told reporters. "It's not necessary. We can play the game without that."

The reason of course, is Jackson's dependence on - or obsession with - the venerable triangle offense. The triple-post format has never been reliant on a ball-dominant backcourt distributor, as Jackson's 11 NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers demonstrated.

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The closest Jackson came to using traditional point guards on title teams was during the Bulls' first three-peat from 1991-1993, when one of John Paxson or B.J. Armstrong started alongside Michael Jordan. Derek Fisher also started every game during Jackson's last two championship seasons with the Lakers in 2009 and 2010. Yet because of the nature of the triangle, a traditional facilitator is less important than wing players or a center.

"We went to a two-guard format, and I think we were successful at it," Jackson said. "I think we caught a lot of people in the league by surprise because of the way we played. So it works, and we know it works."

The fact Jackson is talking about something that began more than two decades ago and last helped produce a championship six years ago is not lost on many around the NBA, who see the shift towards perimeter play and success of the Golden State Warriors, becoming spellbound by their strategy.

Pass-first point guard Rajon Rondo, for all his own question marks - and an unrestricted free agent this summer - said last month that "the triangle's not really a good look for me."

The Knicks have been going with Jose Calderon at the one spot for the past two seasons, but the veteran, who turns 35 in September, is no longer a starting-caliber guard. He shot 1-of-7 in Friday's loss to the Clippers and is registering the third-lowest PER of his career.

Jackson added that backcourt development may come from within. The team is expected to officially sign free-agent combo guard Tony Wroten in the coming days, even though the former Philadelphia 76er may not play this season due to recovery from a torn ACL.

"Our process is going on, it's a little underground, a little beneath the surface," Jackson said. "But this is one of our desires, that we have to have a penetrator and we have to have somebody that can handle those roles."