Carmelo Anthony played in his 433rd game as a Knick Wednesday night, pouring in 17 points and staying late to sign more autographs than usual, in what could prove to be a costly win against the 76ers (April 12) to finish the season 31-51. That very well may be his time at MSG in a New York uniform. With the team looking to rebuild around Porzingis, it may be best for Anthony to waive his no-trade clause this summer for a chance to win a championship. The 32-year-old will meet with Phil Jackson and Knick management Thursday (April 13) to discuss his future with the organization.
When asked if Wednesday’s season finale would be his last with the Knicks Melo responded, “To be honest with you, I don’t know. I’ll know more in the upcoming weeks or so,” Anthony said. “I’m pretty sure the organization has an idea, a thought of what they want to do, how they want to do it. But at this point, it’s all on me.”
A pictured timeline of Carmelo Anthony’s career as a Knick pic.twitter.com/AzqjLiVUwL
— NYK Insider (@NykInsider) April 12, 2017
Anthony’s marriage to New York has been a turbulent seven seasons, and this summer may be the right time to pull the plug on the experiment, though number seven would love to remain in New York if winning is on the agenda. “If everybody’s committed to [winning], I’m committed to that too,” Anthony said post-game late Wednesday (April 12). “I want to win, and hopefully everybody else has that same type of mindset.”
Here’s the crowd reaction to Carmelo Anthony’s pregame introduction tonight at MSG, in what MAY be his final game as a Knick: pic.twitter.com/nIFSFeGmxT
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) April 13, 2017
Carmelo admitted the Knicks may trade him and “it’s hard to trust” Phil Jackson after some of his recent actions saying, “If somebody was talking bad about you indirectly at your job, what would you do? You would feel a certain way. You would want that person to come straightforward with you. And I feel the same way. I’m always open. I’m a very honest person. I know the business and I know the game and I know how it works. So if it’s something that you want to get across, a message that you want to get across, I’ve always been open.”
After notching their third consecutive 50-loss season, the Knicks decided to exercise the last two years of Phil Jackson’s contract, so the 80-166 executive will be in the mix for the upcoming years. Now, Carmelo is a totally different story. An era that began with so much hope when the blockbuster was struck in February 2011 has only resulted in one playoff series win six years later.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=K5g0JZ7dFT4
Instead of embracing Carmelo’s strengths as a magician on the offensive end and surrounding him with sufficient talent, Phil and others have called out Anthony for what he wasn’t, pointing out his flaws on the defensive end and so-called lack of leadership. It’s a shame Melo’s best teammates during his Knick tenure could possibly be a limited center in Tyson Chandler, Amar’e Stoudemire as a shell of himself, the volatile J.R. Smith, or a 39-year-old Jason Kidd.
No matter what happens in the offseason, this much is hard to argue: Carmelo Anthony’s handled all the drama this season like a professional
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) April 13, 2017
Anthony finishes his 2016 campaign averaging 22.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. Will the three-time Olympic gold medalist return to New York next season?