Carmelo Anthony has been extremely loyal to New York for a while now. Even after missing the playoffs, he still resigned with the team two summers ago. He even admitted that his loyalty to New York has come back to bite him in the ass recently. Carmelo has been EXTREMELY loyal to the Knicks, but recently people have been talking about Carmelo potentially waiving his no-trade clause. Does this mean that Anthony is not loyal to New York now?
Don’t tell him that. Anthony spoke on his loyalty to New York at shootaround on Wednesday, and according to Mark Berman of the New York Post, Anthony still feels very loyal to NY.
“I know the reason why I stuck it out,’’ said Anthony, who feels fully recovered from his migraine headache that caused him to miss the Knicks’ game on Sunday. “People that really understand it know why I’m sticking it out. It’s odd to question my loyalty at this point in time, especially when you showed and I’ve showed time and time again my loyalty to not just the organization, but New York and vice versa.”
One thing is perfectly clear with Carmelo: he wants to bring a championship to New York. The thing is, it is hard to envision this happening anytime soon. Carmelo is at the end of his prime at 31 years old, and the Knicks want to rebuild. Phil Jackson is going to try to make moves this summer, but it will be hard to do so. He doesn’t have enough room to give anybody a max deal right now, which will be difficult for the Knicks to acquire any big name free agents. The Knicks want to contend, and the best way to do that may be for Anthony to leave. He is paid a lot, and makes it hard for the team to sign anybody else.
The problem with Anthony leaving is that he may not want to leave. Recently, he said he may not be back in New York next season, but because of his huge salary and the fact that he wants to play for a good team, it will be hard for the Knicks to get rid of him. Because of this, Melo will likely be in New York again next season.
