New interim Knicks president Scott Perry addressed the players before Wednesday’s practice with a simple message:
Despite the turmoil, carry on.
Team president Steve Mills was fired Tuesday morning, soon after the club returned from Cleveland — and after going 2-0 on the road trip. All that got them was more chaos.
Perry was promoted to run this latest version of Team Titanic on an interim basis, but he’s likely to be fired at season’s end. That’s probably why Perry, who doesn’t have a guaranteed pact for next season, was not permitted to talk to the media.
To add to the tension, the trade deadline is Thursday, and Perry is fielding offers with almost no untouchables on the roster — save for their 2019 No. 3-overall pick RJ Barrett.
The Knicks (15-36) return to action Thursday night versus Orlando, hours after the deadline, and “Sell the Knicks’’ chants could abound if the club falls well behind in the game.
“[Perry said] we’ve got to keep moving forward,’’ Julius Randle said. “We’ve had a lot of things happen throughout the year. We’ve just got to keep moving forward, keep doing our job, keep playing with passion and determination and all those type of things. So that’s all we can focus on. None of us can focus on anything that’s out of our control, honestly.
“I didn’t expect it, honestly, waking up. But I’m not surprised by anything. It’s the NBA. It’s my sixth year. I’ve seen a lot in my short six years. I don’t get surprised by anything anymore.
“I didn’t make the decision, so I can’t focus on it or dwell on it. Me and Steve are still going to have a great relationship. He said he’ll be here, we’ll get dinner, whatever it is. I’m extremely thankful for him bringing me here.’’
The players indicated Mills called all the players individually in the morning. The team has had to endure the firing of its head coach after just 22 games, heavy rumors about trades since many of them are on expiring contracts and now this oddly timed maneuver.
Too bad for Barrett, who is getting ready to return after a nine-game absence with a sprained ankle. He so badly wanted to be a Knick, and refused to work out for Memphis, which picked second, before last year’s draft.
“It’s sad,’’ Barrett said. “He was one of the main people that gave me the opportunity to be in the NBA. Just have to keep moving forward and I wish him nothing but the best. We all heard from him.’
“I try to do my job. We have great guys from the whole organization. Everybody’s great. So we’ve all been kind of sticking together through everything. It’s the NBA. Things are going to happen. I’m really sad that all these things happened, especially the people that really gave me this shot.”
Barrett’s desire to be a Knick hasn’t soured despite this mess.
“I definitely want to be here,’’ Barrett said. “I definitely want to be a Knick. That’s going to be my answer.”
Imagine Elfird Payton waking up from his triple-double in Cleveland (17 points 15 assists, 11 rebounds) and finding out the team president just got fired.
“It’s tough, you never want to see somebody you’ve been working with all year go,’’ Payton said. “He reached out to us. It’s tough when you lose somebody you’re in a foxhole with from the beginning of the season.’’
Knicks interim coach Mike Miller, whose record is 11-18 after taking over a 4-18 squad, said the players have been resilient.
“The message has been pretty consistent,’’ Miller said. “These guys are professionals. They’ve acted as professionals. This team has had so many things come up on a personal level, team level, things have happened this year and they’ve rallied around each other.’’
Randle said it’s unfair to lay the blame for Mills’ firing on the team’s current record. The Knicks are on pace to miss the playoffs a seventh straight time.
“I really think you can put it on one season,’’ Randle said. “I don’t think things were made or broken in one season. I don’t make those decisions and I can’t assume as well. Whatever decision was made was made by the people who made those decisions.’’
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