On Jim Rome on Showtime this week (Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT), Syracuse men's basketball coach Jim Boeheim told Rome that if Carmelo Anthony asked him what he should do in free agency, he wouldn't necessarily tell him to stay in New York.
"What I'd tell him is what I would tell any NBA great player," Boeheim said. "If you’re a great player in the NBA, for you to be recognized as a great player you have to win a championship. It’s as simple as that. And I think you have to put yourself in the best position possible to win a championship. LeBron James did it. ... And it’s changed the image of LeBron James forever.
"I think you have to be in a place that you have a chance to win a championship. I think Carmelo loves New York, but I would tell him, 'Let's try to get some place where you can win this thing.' "
Now, Boeheim doesn't specifically say there that he should leave New York, just that that a championship needs to be the priority. There is an implied indication there, though that New York may not be that place. Maybe they can get there in trade or free agency. But Anthony has long listed Boeheim as someone he trusts, and if Boeheim isn't telling him 100 percent that the Knicks are the best option, that's probably going to factor at least a little bit.
The Knicks, though, can offer Anthony the most money in free agency and are expected to re-sig him. Word leaked ealier this week that there is "no chance" the Knicks trade Anthony at the deadline.
Anthony won a national championship with Boeheim at Syracuse in 2003.
