“I always said I wasn’t the one putting me in the starting role or playing me 35 minutes. It could’ve been a guy like a Derrick Rose and I would’ve been the backup point guard. It’s a tough position to play. You have to know your strengths and weaknesses. I’ve been in the league 12 years and I know what I do best or not do as well. It’s nothing personal. It’s what the team needed. Hopefully it will work better.’’

http://nypost.com/2016/07/14/calderons-knicks-reflection-ive-needed-lesser-role-for-years/

I was probably the hardest on Jose last year, but it really wasn't his fault that the coaches (Fish and Rambis) insisted on starting him and playing him starter minutes every game. He simply wasn't starter material anymore; he was a back-up. It was the coach's fault for allowing him to be exposed by quicker, more athletic point guards night in and night out, and he ended up becoming the spapegoat and received the wrath of most fans (including myself), which wasn't fair to him. He's a good, classy guy and can still be useful in the right role like he is now as a backup in LA. He should have never been asked to defend starter caliber point guards; he should have never been asked to try to create off the dribble and penetrate--two things he physically can't do anymore. He is what he is at this point: a terrific spot up shooter and high IQ player who is a ball mover.

The coaches really did him a disservice last year, and it's refreshing to see the lack of ego he has to admit his shortcomings after the fact and to be really honest about the whole situation. What was he supposed to do? Say...coach, I'm not good enough to be the starter anymore?

franco12 wrote:And where's Nix to point out how the triangle doesn't need a traditional PG????

all systems are triangle and all triangles are two dimensional, therefore all PGs are non-traditional. did that make sense? no? good.

WaltLongmire wrote:Classy and thoughtful response by Calderon, and to be honest, I would not have expected anything else from him.

I have to say this, though, and it is a criticism I made a number of times about Calderon on this forum...

I don't think he ever addressed his aging career through a change in his training regime. He looked more like a guy who relaxed the entire off season and got himself into shape during training camp than someone who modified his training to compensate for his age.

Hard enough to do this in your prime...almost impossible to get by like this as an older veteran. Unfortunately for Jose, we had Prigioni around at the time, and guy who clearly took care of his body, and the contrast was obvious.

Jose was correct about what his role should have been, but I'm sorry, I don't feel he ever showed the effort in the off season to do the physical makeover that was needed for him to compete on the team in the league that was paying him for his effort on the court.

I both agree and disagree with this, especially the bolded. Hard to tell what a player has or hasn't done in the offseason, and perhaps Jose just moved into a space in his career where his body was limited. He certainly was otherwise very professional in all aspects that I could see... are we suggesting that he was not during the offseason? Or just not to our own expectations of what we THINK he could be?

Not sure how to quantify that. Should we be disappointed that Tim Duncan didn't work out hard enough last summer in lieu of how much he sucked in the playoffs or just acknowledge that his body just couldn't keep up?

WaltLongmire wrote:Classy and thoughtful response by Calderon, and to be honest, I would not have expected anything else from him.

I have to say this, though, and it is a criticism I made a number of times about Calderon on this forum...

I don't think he ever addressed his aging career through a change in his training regime. He looked more like a guy who relaxed the entire off season and got himself into shape during training camp than someone who modified his training to compensate for his age.

Hard enough to do this in your prime...almost impossible to get by like this as an older veteran. Unfortunately for Jose, we had Prigioni around at the time, and guy who clearly took care of his body, and the contrast was obvious.

Jose was correct about what his role should have been, but I'm sorry, I don't feel he ever showed the effort in the off season to do the physical makeover that was needed for him to compete on the team in the league that was paying him for his effort on the court.

You know what Jose did in the off season?? That's impressive. Do you workout with him??

martin wrote:

WaltLongmire wrote:Classy and thoughtful response by Calderon, and to be honest, I would not have expected anything else from him.

I have to say this, though, and it is a criticism I made a number of times about Calderon on this forum...

I don't think he ever addressed his aging career through a change in his training regime. He looked more like a guy who relaxed the entire off season and got himself into shape during training camp than someone who modified his training to compensate for his age.

Hard enough to do this in your prime...almost impossible to get by like this as an older veteran. Unfortunately for Jose, we had Prigioni around at the time, and guy who clearly took care of his body, and the contrast was obvious.

Jose was correct about what his role should have been, but I'm sorry, I don't feel he ever showed the effort in the off season to do the physical makeover that was needed for him to compete on the team in the league that was paying him for his effort on the court.

I both agree and disagree with this, especially the bolded. Hard to tell what a player has or hasn't done in the offseason, and perhaps Jose just moved into a space in his career where his body was limited. He certainly was otherwise very professional in all aspects that I could see... are we suggesting that he was not during the offseason? Or just not to our own expectations of what we THINK he could be?

Not sure how to quantify that. Should we be disappointed that Tim Duncan didn't work out hard enough last summer in lieu of how much he sucked in the playoffs or just acknowledge that his body just couldn't keep up?

I was coach of a sport where off-season weight-lifting work, or lack of work, was evident when you saw a kid from one season to another. I can tell that I didn't have to be with a kid over the summer to know that they had, or had not, lifted.

David Lee's work on his BB game while with the Knicks was evident...the fact that he did not work on his upper body strength was also obvious, and it hurt him on D. I did not have to hang out with Lee to know that he did not do the lifting some players do to get in shape.

Look at Jose's body...he was not Duncan's age when we got him, he was only 33 years old- it would not have been difficult to add some muscle in the off-season.

If I remember correctly he broke down quickly during his first training camp with us, and I think I might have been critical of him at that time.

I expect that he plays ball leading up to a season, does some running and some aerobic stuff, but it was clear to me that he didn't do any significant lifting to address his fading athleticism and lack of muscle mass.

Just my observation as somebody involved in competitive sports as a participant and coach for about 35 years.