Complete NY Knicks 2014 Training Camp Preview

The New York Knicks, under the new regime of team president Phil Jackson and first-year head coach Derek Fisher, are ready to bounce back from last year's disappointing 37-45 season. 

A longtime Jackson disciple, Fisher will install the famous triangle offense, which won Jackson 11 championships—six with the Chicago Bulls and five with the Los Angeles Lakers. Fisher signed a five-year, $25 million contract in the offseason. 

Armed with a re-signed Carmelo Anthony, a rejuvenated Amar'e Stoudemire and talent in the backcourt, Fisher has a foundation in place. Jackson has been busy tinkering with the roster as well, trading Raymond Felton and Tyson Chandler to the Dallas Mavericks over the summer for Jose Calderon, Samuel Dalembert, Shane Larkin and Wayne Ellington. 

Ellington and Jeremy Tyler were sent to Sacramento for Travis Outlaw and Quincy Acy, giving the Knicks even more depth. There are plenty of new faces and options for the newly installed triangle and its rookie head coach. 

According to ESPN, the Knicks' starting five projects to be Calderon, Iman Shumpert, Anthony, Stoudemire and Dalembert. Regardless of last season's shortcomings, the Knicks have added solid depth and are poised to take a major step forward under Jackson and Fisher.  

Let's take a look at how New York's roster will shake out and who will contribute at each position. 

Starter: Jose Calderon

Bench: Pablo Prigioni, Shane Larkin

Calderon isn't the biggest name when it comes to point guards, but he may just be the best fit for Fisher's triangle. 

He shot over 44 percent from three-point range last year, a marked improvement from Felton's 31 percent. Like many of the other point guards who have run the triangle for Jackson over the years, such as John Paxson, B.J. Armstrong and Fisher, Calderon should benefit from the floor spacing and will get plenty of open looks beyond the arc. 

Calderon finished fifth in the NBA with a .584 effective field-goal percentage and seventh among all players with a 120.1 offensive rating. His efficiency and shooting prowess make him an excellent addition. He won't be relied upon to execute the pick-and-roll and run an offense in the traditional sense. 

He's never been much of a defender and will probably resort to staying with the off-guard while Shumpert matches up with the primary perimeter playmaker. Whatever shortcomings he may have on that end don't touch what he'll be able to contribute offensively.  

Pablo Prigioni's skill set is very much a mirror image of Calderon's, and he should experience a seamless transition into the triangle as well.  

He started 27 games last season for the Knicks and shot 46 percent from beyond the arc, up from 39 percent the year before. 

Already 37 years old in just his third season, Prigioni will get the primary backup duties, at least during the beginning of the year. 

Behind him is Larkin, another piece from the big deal that netted Calderon and Dalembert.

Larkin, the former University of Miami product, is explosive and athletic. He played 48 games last season backing up Calderon in Dallas, averaging 2.8 points on 38 percent shooting. If he can fully grasp the intricacies of the triangle, he should be able to challenge Prigioni for playing time. 

Starter: Iman Shumpert

Bench: J.R. Smith, Tim Hardaway Jr. 

Shumpert is listed as the starter, but everyone knows that both he and J.R. Smith will essentially share the role of shooting guard.

Both appeared in 74 games last season, and Smith played nearly 500 more minutes despite being relegated predominantly to a role off the bench. 

Defensively, Shumpert is one of the very few skilled on-ball defenders the Knicks deploy. As a team, the Knicks ranked 20th last season in opponents' field-goal percentage (45.8). He's quick, with active hands and a nose for the ball, averaging over 1.3 steals a game for his career. More importantly, he has an energy and passion for that side of the ball. 

Offensively, he leaves a bit to be desired. His shooting percentage has dropped each year since he entered the league as a rookie in 2011-12. He shot just 33 percent from three-point range last season. Last year his player efficiency rating dropped below 10 for the first time in his career (9.6). 

But Shumpert is optimistic about his new role in the triangle, per ESPNNewYork.com's Ohm Youngmisuk and Ian Begley:

I know this year in the offense I will have a lot more opportunities to cut and get to the basket. I just want to work on the strength of my leg. Been working on that and being able to pull up off one or two dribbles [and working] on corner [three-pointers] and open threes.

Smith, on the other hand, is a firestarter—for better or worse. Coming off his breakout 2012-13 campaign, in which he won Sixth Man of the Year Award, Smith was up-and-down last season.

His scoring average dropped from 18.1 to 14.5, despite his playing just 200 fewer minutes on the year. He started 37 games after coming off the bench every night the previous season. 

One area of his game he did improve was his three-point shooting, which he relied on heavily throughout the year. 

If you just look at his numbers, Smith attempted 480 threes and knocked them down at 39.4 percent, a noticeable improvement from 35.6 in 2012-13. However, this came at the expense of other scoring opportunities. He took 338 fewer two-point attempts and 173 fewer free-throw attempts. His shooting percentages plummeted in both areas. 

Even though he shot threes at a better rate, his efficiency rating fell as a result of this new offensive approach. His 14.0 PER was his lowest since 2005-06. 

Behind Shumpert and Smith is Tim Hardaway Jr., who has so far looked like one of the true steals of the 2013 draft.

He was known primarily as a shooter coming out of the draft and spent most of last season camping out behind the three-point line, knocking down 36 percent of his long-distance shots. His 10.2 points a game was fifth on the team last year. 

He was a bright spot on last year's team despite his struggles on the defensive end and his often-poor shot selection. He'll be an important cog in this team's rotation, and the triangle will give him opportunities to stretch the floor with his shooting ability. He's a strong candidate for a breakout year.  

He will take on plenty of reserve minutes at both guard spots and perhaps small forward as well. 

Starter: Carmelo Anthony

Bench: Travis Outlaw, Cleanthony Early

Last season marked the first time in his 11-year career that Anthony's team didn't make the playoffs. 

In the aftermath of the Knicks' disappointing season, Anthony went on a whirlwind free-agency tour, meeting with the Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers and other suitors before ultimately returning to the Big Apple and signing a five-year, $124 million contract back in July. 

Even though the Knicks' season ended in disarray and out of the playoff picture, Anthony still had another wildly prolific year on the offensive end. 

He played the most minutes of his career (38.7 a game), averaged 27.4 points, had the second-highest player efficiency rating (24.4) of his career and a usage percentage of 32.4 (third in the NBA). In 2012-13, he led the league with a 35.6 usage percentage.

We know what Anthony provides—stellar scoring, inconsistent defense and a star attraction for the biggest city in the world. He's the cornerstone of the franchise and will remain that way for the remainder of his new nine-figure deal. Fisher looks forward to having that kind of piece to build around, per the New York Daily News:

I’ve played with some of the best players, and they make everybody’s job easier, and Carmelo will do that. I’m for sure looking forward to all the different things we can do with our roster. As I’ve said before, a lot of people feel like everybody around Carmelo needs to be different. I don’t necessarily agree with that mindset.

The Knicks acquired Travis Outlaw and Quincy Acy from the Sacramento Kings for Wayne Ellington and Jeremy Tyler back in August.

Outlaw played sparingly with the Kings over the last three seasons, averaging just 16.9 minutes a game in 2013-14. He averaged 5.4 points and 2.7 assists in 63 games and hasn't played a full 82-game season since the 2010-11 campaign.

His best years came as a member of the Portland Trail Blazers from 2006-09.

Wichita State's Cleanthony Early, the No. 34 pick in the 2014 NBA draft, could end up being a steal. After a sensational college career leading the Shockers into the national spotlight, Early dropped out of the first round. Jackson got tremendous value in the 6'8" swingman, who should have the opportunity to compete for immediate playing time behind Anthony. 

Starter: Amar'e Stoudemire

Bench: Andrea Bargnani, Quincy Acy

Not to overstate, but this is a huge season for Stoudemire. 

For one, he's in the final year of a mammoth five-year, $99 million contract he signed in the infamous summer of 2010. At 31, he's going to get another contract—albeit much smaller than his current one—whether it be in New York or elsewhere. 

A once perennial All-Star, Stoudemire has fought nagging injuries over the past three seasons and hasn't played in more than 65 games since 2010-11. That year, his first in New York, he averaged 25 points and eight rebounds a night on 50 percent shooting while leading the Knicks to the playoffs for the first time since the 2003-04 season.  

He only averaged 22.6 minutes a game last year, mostly in a reserve role. But when he got healthy and started down the stretch, the Knicks went 16-5 in their last 21 games, largely due to Stoudemire's re-emergence. He scored over 20 points in five of those games and looked like his old dominant self in stretches. 

His health is the main obstacle in a potential bounceback season, but his once-horrendous contract could be his fastest ticket out of town. His $23.4 million expiring contract could be an attractive trade chip come February, and he has already been linked to teams with ample amounts of cap space. 

Reports have Stoudemire looking thin and ready for the season, and he sees big things for himself under the new regime, per the New York Post: "For sure, my goal is to return to the All-Star Game and compete for a championship in the postseason." He and the rest of the Knicks fans share a common goal. 

Andrea Bargnani was a big free-agent splash from last summer that never panned out. A former No. 1 overall pick, Bargnani averaged just 13 points a game and a putrid 27 percent from three-point range. 

The 7-footer often looked uncomfortable during his first season in New York. He was never quite able to get his footing and was not the added boost the team was expecting when it traded Steve Novak, Quentin Richardson, Marcus Camby and two first-round picks for the last two years of his five-year, $50 million contract. 

His shortcomings on the defensive side of the ball are well-documented, but if he can put some confidence back into his jump shot, he may be able to carve out a nice role for himself in the triangle. Otherwise, he could be another valuable expiring contract come trade time. 

Acy, who was also acquired in a deal with the Kings over the summer, played 12.9 minutes a game in two NBA seasons. The No. 37 overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft, Acy has averages of 3.1 points and 3.2 rebounds after stints with Sacramento and the Toronto Raptors. 

Starter: Samuel Dalembert

Bench: Jason Smith, Cole Aldrich

The new man in the middle for New York is journeyman Samuel Dalembert, the other main piece of the trade that netted Jose Calderon. 

Tyson Chandler, the former defensive anchor and starting center, was shipped out after a disappointing 2013-14 season in which his true shooting percentage (.615) and PER (16.4) dropped to their lowest marks since his lost year with the Charlotte Bobcats in 2009-10. Chandler won Defensive Player of the Year in 2011-12, his first season in New York. 

Dalembert provides much of the same defensive punch Chandler was known for. He has long, lanky arms and will contest at the rim. He averages 1.8 blocks and 7.9 rebounds a game for his career. 

Offensively, he's never been spectacular. His career shooting percentage of 52 percent is good for a center. He lacks any noteworthy post moves or offensive repertoire, but he plays hard and will contribute something on the defensive end. 

Jason Smith was acquired over the summer as a free agent, signing for the full value of the taxpayer mid-level exception of $3.27 million. He played just 31 games with the New Orleans Pelicans last season, averaging 9.7 points and 5.8 rebounds.

Smith has been predominantly a starter since joining New Orleans in 2010 and has shown flashes of talent; however he has had unfortunate luck with injuries. He underwent season-ending knee surgery last January, but looks to be healthy for a fresh start with the Knicks. He should see a fairly even split with Dalembert in terms of minutes at the center spot.

Cole Aldrich played in just 46 games last season with the Knicks in a reserve role. The former No. 11 pick in the 2010 NBA draft, Aldrich has career averages of 2.0 points and 2.5 rebounds during his four-year career. 

A former standout at the University of Kansas, Aldrich will work behind Dalembert and Smith. He's a solid rebounder and rim protector who could see his 7.2 minutes per game from last season increase this year, largely due to the uncertainty ahead of him on the depth chart. He had averages of 14.1 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per 36 minutes last season. 

All individual statistics courtesy of Basketball Reference. All team statistics courtesy of NBA.com. Follow Stephen on Twitter for more hoops discussion.