How’s it goink with the Knicks: Phil Jackson buries Carmelo Anthony
Not surprisingly, as the season just ended, Phil Jackson signaled the end of Carmelo Anthony’s tenure in New York.
To no one’s surprise, Phil Jackson made it clear that Carmelo Anthony will not be in New York next year. The New York Knicks (somewhat surprisingly) extended Phil’s contract yesterday. Jackson wasted no time showing Carmelo Anthony who his boss is. And by who his boss is, I mean, he wasted no time telling Carmelo who will be trying to trade him this summer.
In a press conference today at the Knicks practice center, Jackson blamed Anthony for the triangular failures in New York since Phil arrived. He also indicated that Carmelo is to blame for basically all the Knicks struggles over the last six years.
Since Carmelo Anthony landed in New York, the Knicks have made the playoffs three times, reaching the Eastern Conference Semifinals in 2013. Unfortunately, the last four season have been almost comical, as the Knicks have not made it past 40 wins in any year. The low point was the 2014-2015 season in which the Knicks won 17 games, and Carmelo Anthony actually did not play defense. He also did not play very much, only appearing in 40 games. Though his scoring has dipped a bit, Carmelo has still averaged 22 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists on about 43/34/83 shooting percentages. Going into his age-33 season in 2017-2018, he will be a valuable second option for a contender.
Phil said the triangle hasn't worked because "we've faced resistance." Implied that was Melo
— Al Iannazzone (@Al_Iannazzone) April 14, 2017
Phil Jackson on Carmelo Anthony: "I think the direction with our team is that he would be better off somewhere else."
— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) April 14, 2017
Phil said there "was a disconnect and there was s rebelliousness" within the team and that will change.
— Al Iannazzone (@Al_Iannazzone) April 14, 2017
Reminds me so much of that Breaking Bad scene where Walt tells Jesse he'd be far better off going somewhere else for a fresh start.
— Chris Herring (@Herring_NBA) April 14, 2017
What if Carmelo wants to stay? Jackson says he told him: "We have't won here. You don’t want to end your career" w' a label as a non-winner
— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) April 14, 2017
It’s hard to blame Carmelo Anthony alone for how poorly the Knicks have performed over the last few years. Sure, he has mailed it in on defense, but he is still a No. 1 or No. 2 scoring option.
Next: Carmelo Anthony may have played his last game for the New York Knicks
He has an almost-no trade clause, and it will be interesting to see who Phil pawns him off too. Remember, Carmelo can block a trade to any team. The Knicks are not going to waive him and his $124 million contract so a trade has to be worked out Don’t expect Phil to get a lot of value for Anthony as teams like the Cavs have already said no to a Kevin Love-Anthony swap, and the LA Clippers said no to a Blake Griffin-Anthony swap. Should be an interesting summer.