NBA

Iman Shumpert: New triangle offense will suit my game

Iman Shumpert has spent the summer working on a lot of little things, honing different elements of his offensive arsenal, in preparation for what he expects to be a bigger role in the Knicks offense.

Having spent the majority of his young career playing in Mike Woodson’s perimeter-heavy attack, Shumpert said he believes the switch to Derek Fisher’s triangle offense finally will allow him to be properly utilized on the offensive end.

“There’s constant action going on,” Shumpert said. “I think I’ll be able to capitalize off that and I’ll be able to use my athleticism a lot more than standing in the corner.”

After tearing his ACL during the 2012 playoffs, missing much of the following season and spraining his MCL in the same knee last season, Shumpert said the biggest focus of his offseason training has been strengthening his left knee back to the level it was during his breakout rookie season.

“All I’ve been working on is just getting that trust back in my left leg, to take off from further, to take off earlier and use it a lot more, cutting and slashing to the basket,” Shumpert said at his Basketball ProCamp in Westchester. “I know this year, this offense, I’ll have a lot more opportunities to cut and get to the basket, so I just want to work on the strength in my leg and be able to jump off and be comfortable.”

Last season, Shumpert struggled as the team struggled, resulting in the 24-year-old facing non-stop trade rumors, which caused him to stop using social media. Though Shumpert said he still can’t figure out what caused the Knicks to fall from the No. 2 seed to eight games below .500, he believes the difficulties they faced last season only will help them avoid a similar outcome in the upcoming season.

“I think we’ll be great,” Shumpert said. “This year, I think we’ll be able to clean up a lot of the stuff that we went through last year. I think it’s going to help us this year a lot, what we had to go through last year. I think it’ll give everybody that chip on their shoulder.”