New York Knicks: Carmelo Anthony is the only starter

A lot has changed for the New York Knicks. Phil Jackson has taken over operations, Derek Fisher comes in as the head coach, the offense will take the form on a triangle and much of the personnel has changed.

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One thing that hasn’t changed is the presence of Carmelo Anthony.

Jackson and Fisher have a lot to figure out before the start of the season, including what the starting lineup will look like.

According to Al Iannazzone of Newsday, Anthony is the only Knicks player guaranteed a starting job.

"“We’ve had considerable amount of personnel change,” Jackson said. “We’re hoping it’s all for the good and they fit together quite well.“We have really good depth on this team. We feel like we’re backed up in every position with some depth and I think that’s really good.”Fisher said Anthony is the only player guaranteed to start."

You would think Jose Calderon has a good chance of being the starter, too. He joins, Samuel Dalembert, Jason Smith, Travis Outlaw, Shane Larkin, Quincy Acy and rookie Cleanthony Early as the newcomers.

The returning players are Anthony (who signed a five-year, $124 million contract over the summer), Amar’e Stoudemire, J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, Tim Hardaway Jr., Andrea Bargnani, Pablo Prigioni and Cole Aldrich.

To team up with Anthony and likely Calderon, the Knicks will have to choose a shooting guard from the group of Smith, Shumpert and Haraway Jr. Shumpert is the incumbent, and Smith either came off the bench as the sixth man or started at small forward. Hardaway Jr., who started one game last season, is the dark horse to win the job and is probably the best pure shooter of the trio.

Tyson Chandler was traded to the Dallas Mavericks, and Dalembert will likely take his spot in the starting lineup. To fill out the front court, the Knicks can go in a variety of directions. They could go with Bargnani, who started last season. Or they could see what Stoudemire has left in the tank. Smith can play as a stretch-4, too, while Outlaw and Acy can play both forward positions.

One thing we know is that this team will revolve around Anthony’s role in the triangle, and everything else is likely a moving part.

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New York Knicks: Carmelo Anthony only player guaranteed starting job

By Wes Goldberg | Sep 27, 2014

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