Derek Fisher wants to make it clear he doesn’t want rebuilding the Knicks to be a long-term project.
The New York coach says his team will be more competitive than prognosticators think.
''We want to win, so we didn't go out and sign six rookies,'' Fisher said, per The Associated Press. ''We signed quality veteran players because we're trying to win right now.''
The Knicks didn’t come away with any marquee free agents, but did land solid players in Robin Lopez. Arron Afflalo, Derrick Williams and Kyle O’Quinn, among others.
Fisher sees similarities between the Knicks — who finished with the NBA’s worst record last season — and the Hawks, who finished last season with the Eastern Conference’s best record.
''If rebuilding for us is based on the fact that we don't have a certain caliber of player on our roster quote-unquote other than Carmelo (Anthony), so people assume that we're rebuilding,'' Fisher said. ''But was Atlanta rebuilding last year when they didn't have that quote-unquote player on their roster?''
It remains to be seen whether the Knicks can pull of what the Hawks did last season, though they should be better than last year’s 17-65 campaign.