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Fisher dismisses notion of Knicks rebuild: 'We're trying to win right now'

Adam Hunger / USA TODAY Sports

The New York Knicks would prefer to forget their tumultuous 2014-15 campaign.

With the sting of 65 losses likely outweighing the silver lining of 17 wins, head coach Derek Fisher has been steadfastly optimistic about his team's outlook for the upcoming season.

"We signed quality veteran players because we're trying to win right now," he told the Associated Press.

With the term "rebuild" often being associated with the trajectory of the storied franchise, Fisher has taken issue with such a label.

"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, so people assume that we're rebuilding," he said. "But was Atlanta rebuilding last year when they didn’t have that quote-unquote player on their roster?"

While Fisher refers to the Atlanta Hawks' lack of big-name stars, he fails to acknowledge the fact that the subject of his comparison boasted four All-Stars in 2015 - just the eighth time such a feat has been accomplished in NBA history.

Regardless, Fisher employed an appropriate approach to his second season as the Knicks bench boss. Rather than succumbing to the relentless nay-saying of basketball pundits, he stubbornly defended the apparent improvements facilitated by his superiors.

Related: 2015-16 NBA Season Preview: New York Knicks

"So it just depends on who your team is and we think that our group, as we figure some things out, will be more competitive than maybe what people think," Fisher said.

With superstar Carmleo Anthony as the Knicks' centerpiece, team president Phil Jackson provided Fisher with a rather incongruent mix of role players last season: Andrea Bargnani, Tim Hardaway, Samuel Dalembert, Cole Aldrich, and Quincy Acy to name a few.

With these pieces having been ushered out of the Big Apple - with the exception of Bargnani, who didn't have to change zip codes - this year's iteration appears to be more well-balanced and possibly more respectable.

In theory.

Related: Improved Knicks may still be on the road to nowhere​

Whether the Knicks' revamped roster translates to a significant spike in the win column will be worth watching.

Fisher, for one, believes his team is primed for steady progress: "We're moving in a good place."

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