For months, most of the chatter surrounding the Knicks and their search for a new coach focused on the team’s triangle offense and who could run it. Now that they’ve settled on Jeff Hornacek, that talk only figures to escalate, since Hornacek will have the freedom to develop a hybrid version of Phil Jackson’s hobby horse.

But that’s only the start of the conversation. More important than whatever tweaks Hornacek plans to make to the triangle—and it’s worth remembering here that Derek Fisher tried to alter the offense, to no...