Carmelo Anthony saga taking dark turn
Carmelo Anthony (203 cm) made a decision to play for the New York Knicks for the duration of his max contract, which he signed in 2014. Phil Jackson, Knicks President, is now having second thoughts and is questioning Anthony’s future with the team.
In the 2014 offseason, Anthony signed a new contract with the team, which was worth $124 Million over four years and included a no-trade clause. This means that Melo can only be traded by the Knicks if he waives the clause. It all sounded great when the deal was made official. Phil Jackson approved it thinking that he could build a championship contender around one of the best scorers in the game.
We are now midway into the second year of the contract, and the Knicks are nowhere close to being contenders.What went wrong? Jackson has made it clear, in recent news, that Anthony is not what this team is needing now to be successful. Anthony does have the right to waive off this part of his contract. However, he has stated that he does not want to do so because he loves playing in New York.
Jackson does have a point. Anthony is a player who thrives in isolation plays, especially in crunch time. Early in his career, Carmelo was the best at isolating himself in a one-on-one situation. He would drive or let loose with a jump shot whenever he wanted. That’s what helped him lead the league in scoring in the 2012/2013 season for this same Knicks team. It has worked in the past, but it’s not working now.
The 2016/2017 Knicks have started a pattern. A lot of their games have been close, at least until Carmelo Anthony dribbled the air out of the ball. This resulted in him having to take a tough shot, which he often ended up missing. This pattern has resulted in the loyal, but honest Knicks fan base, to boo and taunt Anthony. He just doesn’t have the same explosiveness he once had, and everybody but Carmelo can see it.
Jackson is planning to meet with Anthony in the near-future. That could result in anything from Jackson changing the team for Anthony or Anthony demanding a trade and waiving his no-trade clause. This situation is a potentially explosive situation for the New York Knicks.