Carmelo Anthony told Phil Jackson he wants to stay in New York
By John Buhler
New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony met with Knicks president Phil Jackson about recent rumors and reportedly told Phil he wants to stay in New York.
Things are not going well with the 2016-17 New York Knicks. The team is spiraling out of control, losers of two straight, eight of their last 10 and residing in 11th place in the Eastern Conference Standings. Point guard Derrick Rose went AWOL for a night, power forward Kristaps Porzingis is dealing with a sore Achilles, and small forward Carmelo Anthony is refusing to waive his no-trade clause.
Anthony forced his way to the Knicks organization in 2011 after spending his first eight NBA seasons playing for the Denver Nuggets (2003-11). He could have signed with his hometown team in 2011 NBA free agency, but couldn’t get out of Denver fast enough.
The Knicks are rapidly becoming one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference and Anthony is one of the team’s few trade chips. ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reports that Anthony has met with Knicks team president Phil Jackson about “if he wanted to remain with the Knicks.” Shelburne describes the meeting as “contentious”. Does this mean Jackson will get Anthony to waive his no-trade clause?
Phil Jackson met with Carmelo Anthony today and asked him if he wanted to remain with the Knicks, sources told ESPN.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) January 17, 2017
Melo has a no trade clause. So he'd need to waive that. No specific teams discussed. Everyone just processing now.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) January 17, 2017
One source described the meeting as far more contentious than previous sit downs between Jackson and Anthony.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) January 17, 2017
Jackson drafted Porzingis No. 4 overall in the 2015 NBA Draft out of Latvia. He is the Knicks’ present and future. Anthony has been the star player on every team he’s been on, but his act of a volume scorer with questionable defensive commitment is growing old. Anthony has his reasons to be reluctant to waive his no-trade clause. He is playing for his hometown team and would probably want to retire as a Knick if he had his way. However, the reported result of the meeting was Anthony stating his desire to stay in New York.
League source confirms that Melo met with Phil Jackson today and told him wants to remain in New York and win in New York.
— Al Iannazzone (@Al_Iannazzone) January 17, 2017
Well that’s that, right?
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It may seem settled but there is too much tension with the Knicks for something not to give. Although he has repeatedly refused to consider it, it wouldn’t be a total surprise if Anthony ends up waiving his no-trade clause to land on a contending team of his choice sometime between now and the February trade deadline.