The Knicks’ front office (even Phil Jackson!) watched the workouts at the NBA Combine

Are you ready for some Draft Combine news? LET ME HEAR YOU SHOUT!!!

Yessir, Phil Jackson showed up to the Combine to watch the workouts—a significant development considering he stayed in his hotel during the 2015 Combine, when the Knicks were guaranteed a top-six pick. Phil was rolling with his usual crew: Steve Mills, Allan Houston and Jeff Hornacek.

The front office folk spent some time the past two days talking to players. Markelle Fultz and De’Aaron Fox were the big names, of course, but several other prospects claimed to have spoken with Knicks brass, including:

• Tony Bradley — UNC
• Thomas Bryant — Indiana
• Justin Jackson — UNC
• Frank Jackson — Duke
• Monte Morris — Iowa State
• Frank Mason — Kansas

Purdue forward Caleb Swanigan mentioned a few days ago that he planned to meet with New York, but I never saw that confirmed. That’s an interesting list of dudes projected to fall in various spots in the first and second round.

You’ll be happy to hear that the Knicks are focused on perimeter players.

Phil even took some questions. He refused to discuss Kristaps Porzingis, but he did play a few tracks off his “Carmelo Anthony Would Be Better Off Elsewhere” album:

"He has a no trade contract. I think I expressed what I felt. I can't express it any better. I thought it was well-said, even though a lot of you didn't feel quite that way. But we'd like him to have success, the opportunity is narrowing. We'd just like him to have success somewhere. We're not going to be there. Hopefully we'll be maybe a playoff team next year. It would be tough to consider us a possible champion."

Pure Phil: probably true, but still impossibly condescending. Hopefully he played nice when talking to the youngsters.