Sasha Vujacic hasn't played a full season in the NBA since the 2010-11 season, but despite that, the New York Knicks went out and signed him this offseason. Phil Jackson brought Vujacic in mostly because of his familiarity with him from back in his Los Angeles Lakers days, and based on Jackson's comments, Vujacic has a pretty good shot to be a key contributor for the Knicks. Vujacic is also very familiar with the triangle offense Jackson wants to run, and he reportedly is going to help teach it to some of the Knicks players, according to Ian Begley of ESPN.
Vujacic played for the Lakers for six plus seasons and was part of two championships there, so he has seen just how effective the triangle offense can be. The problem is that last year, the Knicks didn't exactly run the triangle well, and their offense was disjointed and a big mess and that's putting it lightly. Vujacic is open to helping some of the younger players learn the offense.
"Of course. I was always someone that helped players on the court. We have a lot of rookies and a lot of younger players -- I still consider myself young by the way -- so we have a great mix of guys and I'm looking forward to teaching them and giving them help," said Vujacic.
There have always been people that thought the triangle was a flawed offensive system and that it only worked for Jackson because he had such great players. Nowadays, the NBA is going to position less basketball and the pick-and-roll is more prominent than ever, so it is entirely possible that the triangle offense is outdated but Vujacic thinks that the offenses track record speaks for itself although he did admit players are important.
"It's a proven offense. It's an offense that won not only games but championships. Obviously you need to have players that can mold into that offense and to follow it and I think that our personal right now is very excited," said Vujacic.
Vujacic signed a fully guaranteed contract with the Knicks this offseason, so he is a virtual lock to make the roster. The 31-year-old Slovenian played in two games with the Los Angeles Clippers two seasons ago after two full years away from the NBA. For his career Vujacic has averaged 12.7 points per 36 minutes and shoots 37 percent from three in his NBA career so he should be able to provide the Knicks with some outside shooting to go along with his knowledge of the triangle offense.
