With many new faces, Phil Jackson admits Knicks 'may struggle early'

New York Knicks president Phil Jackson isn't repeating the mistakes of last offseason, when he put the sights of fans firmly on the playoffs, however unrealistic that outcome seemed.

Coming off a 17-65 season that resulted in heavy roster turnover and an unspoken shifting of the team's timeline for contention, Jackson was less forthcoming about his expectations for the 2015-16 season. He told ESPN's Charley Rosen it may take some time for the whole to become greater than the sum of the parts.

"We have a number of new players, so they may struggle early as they learn how to play with each other," Jackson said. "Where we end up as the season progresses is an unknown, but we have improved our roster and have a chance to be a good team."

Jackson and the Knicks are bringing back just six players from a season ago based on the team's current roster. That means more than half of the roster - and probably an even bigger chunk of the rotation - is new and has to learn not just each other but the somewhat tricky triangle-based principles head coach Derek Fisher employs.

The Knicks have to hope adding seasoned veterans like Robin Lopez and Arron Afflalo helps shorten the team's learning curve, otherwise the playoffs, even in the friendlier Eastern Conference, could become too arduous an endpoint.