Carmelo Anthony reportedly frustrated with Phil Jackson, but will either side blink?
Knicks star mad at teammates, mad at management, as losses and drama pile up
By
Matt Moore
•
3 min read
The New York Daily News reports that after the Knicks lost to the Philadelphia 76ers 98-97 earlier this week, Carmelo Anthony went on a locker room tirade against teammates. He blasted their effort and, notably, the fact that he was frozen out on the Knicks' failed winning-shot attempt (a Kristaps Porzingis airball).
That's pretty much the Carmelo Anthony experience in a nutshell. However, in the same report, Frank Isola indicates that Anthony is getting more than a little tired of Phil Jackson and how the roster has been assembled.
Besides the fact that trading for Carmelo is complicated due to his salary and the fact that he'd have to agree to the deal, it's hard to imagine Anthony giving team president Phil Jackson the satisfaction of running him out of town.
Anthony's relationship with Jackson has never been great and it's much worse now. It didn't help that Jackson would not grant Anthony his wish last May and interview Tom Thibodeau for the head coaching job. Plus, Jackson publicly criticizing Anthony for stalling the offense didn't go over well either.
Anthony is becoming increasingly frustrated with losing and Jackson's inability to do anything about it. He reached a breaking point on Wednesday in Philadelphia. Maybe that's a good thing.
Source: Carmelo Anthony went on tirade after shocking 76ers loss: source - NY Daily News.
This report comes the same day that Derrick Rose said that Jeff Hornacek needs to stay on the players more on the defensive end and that Charlie Rosen, a longtime Jackson ghostwriter, wrote a column suggesting Anthony might waive his no-trade clause while also describing the myriad ways Anthony has failed Jackson.
To review:
In November, Melo said he was "getting tired" of talking about the Triangle offense.
Jackson came under fire for making inappropriate remarks about LeBron James and his business associates, which upset Anthony.
Jackson openly said Anthony makes a mistake by stopping the ball too often.
Now the comments from Rosen, and this report.
You can only chalk up so much of this to the New York media. There's enough smoke here to roast some wieners.
It's beginning to seem more and more like neither side wants the other in New York, but Anthony's also not willing to waive his no-trade clause to go elsewhere, and Jackson doesn't seem likely to depart either. He has an opt-out at the end of this year, and if Anthony holds his ground, it's possible Jackson decides his time on Earth is too short to stress over Anthony's poor defense and bad habits.
A better solution for all sides would mean Anthony waiving that no-trade clause and being dealt to a contender or somewhere he can be relevant again, but he seems more interested in his New York legacy, with his Hall of Fame candidacy decided after securing another gold medal this summer in the Olympics.
Jackson also doesn't seem to be keen on admitting any mistakes. The team is chock full of defensively questionable personnel, though clearly the signings of Joakim Noah and Courtney Lee were made with that side of the ball in mind. He continues to harp on the Triangle offense being absent, despite the fact that the Knicks' offense is fine, and his bench is a complete quarantine zone many nights.
Anthony, for his part, has been the same player he has always been. He's high-usage and wants to dribble the air out of the ball most of the time. But he has been a willing passer this year and remains a great clutch-time scoring weapon. He gets buckets.
Maybe that's really the problem. Jackson is the same guy he's always been, Anthony the same guy he's always been, and neither one have moved toward the middle ground in the direction of the other. You can make arguments for why neither should, but it's pretty clear that despite so many efforts to paint a rosy face on the front, this partnership just may not be fated to work out in New York.
Chalk up another one.
