Carmelo Anthony speaks in third person to address recent trade rumors

Anthony says his family will factor into a decision

Based off the multitude of reports and rumors, it seems Knicks team president Phil Jackson is hellbent on trading Carmelo Anthony. Jackson has reportedly reached out to the Celtics and Clippers about such a possible trade. There is one problem with his master plan to trade Anthony: He has a no-trade clause and only Anthony can determine if he will be traded by the Knicks.

There was a report that Anthony would waive his no-trade clause if he was going to join the Celtics yet according to him, that isn't true in the least. In fact, according to Anthony, he hasn't said anything yet. That's right, perhaps exasperated by the endless stream of rumors, Anthony is now referring to himself in the third person.

From Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today:

"I hear the new report every day," Anthony said Tuesday morning. "Every day is a new team. 'Melo said this, Melo said that.' Melo hasn't said anything yet. That's what I will say. Melo hasn't said anything yet."

...

Asked if he had given the Knicks a list of teams he would agree to a trade with, Anthony said, "I haven't told anybody anything. I haven't had that conversation with anybody."

Given that he likes playing in New York and that his family likes living there, Anthony said family considerations would play a pivotal role in his decision to waive his no-trade clause.

"That's more about what I care about -- my family, my son being comfortable in New York and at an age now where he really gets an opportunity to understand being in New York and having a home there and having friends there and my wife working there and having her opportunities there," Anthony said. "I think about that more so of my decision for my career. At the end of the day, it will come down to my decision, but I think about what my family is thinking and what they'll have to go through if anything."

Anthony also said (not in the third person), that he will waive his no-trade clause if the Knicks tell him that they want to rebuild the roster. But since Jackson hasn't said that yet, Anthony doesn't plan on waiving his no-trade clause because, as he says, he is happy in New York and his family enjoys the city.

So unless Jackson wants to acknowledge that the roster he built isn't going to be successful, Anthony will remain on the Knicks. Anthony controls his own destiny here and Jackson can doing nothing about it until he engages in a full rebuild. An undertaking, that Jackson seems hesitant to do as it will be an acknowledgment that all of the flashy moves he has made, simply haven't worked out.