It appears that New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony heard Phil Jackson's comments at his end-of-season press conference on Friday. Jackson told reporters that he never criticized Anthony -- "Holding the ball is not a criticism. That's what he does. That's pure fact." -- and directly said that Anthony would "be better off somewhere else," adding that in their exit meeting, the team president told the star that he shouldn't end his career being labeled as a non-winner. Shortly after it ended, Anthony posted this photo from "The Great Gatsby" on Instagram:
Yes, the laughing, crying emoji seems appropriate here. But I still have questions:
- Why is Anthony surprised? Jackson implied that he and Anthony had an understanding that the Knicks would do all they could to trade him to a better situation this summer. Is this not true, or is he just shocked that Jackson was so open about it?
- Did Anthony watch the presser live? Did he hear about it second-hand? Did he just read tweets about it? I would have loved to seen his in-the-moment reaction to all this.
- If Anthony did see the whole thing, I'd like to know which parts bothered him the most. Was it when Jackson said the resistance to the triangle started at the top, implying that Anthony prevented it from working? Was it when he said that it has become clear that the Knicks' partnership with Anthony hasn't worked? Was it when he said that they needed more active, defensive-minded players, implying that Anthony's score-first habits held them back? If he could elaborate with a full, written statement about all of this, I'm sure New York fans would appreciate it. Tell us more, Melo!
