Carmelo Anthony Comments on Jeff Hornacek's Impact on Knicks Offense

Assuming he takes over as head coach of the New York Knicks, Jeff Hornacek will already have a big endorsement from Carmelo Anthony.

On Wednesday, Bleacher Report's Howard Beck reported the Knicks are set to hire Hornacek as their new head coach, though the team has yet to make it official. ESPN.com's Ian Begley reported the move is a formality at this point.

In an interview with WNBC-TV on Saturday, Anthony discussed Hornacek's potential arrival, per Begley:

"

I played against him a couple of times when he was the head coach out there in Phoenix. Everybody knows he likes to play an uptempo pace of game, likes to get out in transition, likes to speed the game up a lot. So from that standpoint, I'll definitely be looking forward to that.

"

The Suns thrived by playing a fast-paced style in Hornacek's first two years. It didn't approach that of the Mike D'Antoni-coached Phoenix teams, but the numbers back up Anthony's claim, per Basketball-Reference.com:

Season	PPG	eFG%	Pace	Offensive Rating	Defensive Rating
2013-14	105.2	.519	95.8	109.5	106.7
2014-15	102.4	.501	96.3	105.3	106.2

Begley also reported the Knicks might not use the triangle offense. On Friday, the New York Daily News' Frank Isola said Anthony won't be the only Knick who's happy to hear about the shift in offensive strategy:

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The Knicks' franchise player was not very fond of the triangle offense, and it's hardly a secret that [Kristaps] Porzingis was less than thrilled with the way Kurt Rambis was using him. But Porzingis is too young and too respectful to lash out. Instead, he left it to Carmelo Anthony to become the public face of an unhappy and confused locker room.

When Melo questioned the offensive system and the direction of the coaching search, Porzingis, like most of the Knicks, was in step with his more famous teammate. Ultimately, this may be Carmelo's greatest assist, and you have to wonder how much Anthony's pleas influenced Garden chairman James Dolan.

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In Phoenix, Hornacek had a number of talented point guards at his disposal: Goran Dragic, Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight and Isaiah Thomas. In the Big Apple, he wouldn't have that luxury. If New York misses on Mike Conley in free agency, the pickings are slim at point, and the Knicks don't have a first-round pick in the upcoming draft.

Perhaps Jerian Grant or Langston Galloway, a restricted free agent, would thrive in an uptempo offense, but neither player enjoyed a strong 2015-16 season.

No matter what the roster looks like, many Knicks fans will agree that moving away from the triangle and into an offense that fits with the current trends in the NBA would put the team in a better position for the 2016-17 season.