The New York Knicks’ season is mercifully over. Even by the Knicks’ standards, the 2016-17 season was a strange one, filled with many embarrassing moments. There was Derrick Rose going AWOL. There was Phil Jackson being blasted by LeBron James for potentially racially insensitive messages. There was Joakim Noah getting suspended for violating the league’s anti-drug policy. There were a lot of losses.
During one particular embarrassment, a loss to the Nets on March 12, the Knicks’ star forward Carmelo Anthony and head coach Jeff Hornacek had a heated exchange, a microcosm of the year as a whole.
Following via ESPN’s Ian Begley:
Hornacek lit into the Knicks in the visitors locker room of the Barclays Center, and according to people familiar with the matter, Hornacek’s diatribe was expletive-filled and delivered at a high decibel level.
It’s not uncommon for a coach to go off on his players after a pathetic showing. But what happened next was a bit surprising.
Carmelo Anthony, whose default demeanor is relaxed and easygoing, responded with anger and expletives of his own. For those accustomed to seeing Anthony live by his oft-used idiom, “Stay Melo,” it was jarring.
Anthony’s R-rated rant essentially questioned the direction of the entire organization, according to sources. Associate head coach Kurt Rambis fired back, calling out Anthony’s effort on defense.
Anthony responded again, but before things could devolve further, one Knick suggested that the players head back to the court and start warming up.
So they did.
Yeah, that all happened at halftime of a game.
The Knicks were a disaster all year and their future is cloudy. The smart thing would be to move on from Carmelo and rebuild with youth around Kristaps Porzingis. Of course, that’s all contingent on Melo willing to sign off on his no-trade clause, which according to Begley is a very real possibility.
It seems more and more like the Knicks and Carmelo Anthony are headed for a divorce.
