The latest chapter in the Carmelo Anthony in New York saga is being written. After months of public feuds, it seems like Melo’s time with the Knicks might be coming to an end.
Knicks president Phil Jackson hasn’t been shy about asserting that the team wants to trade its star. Anthony has at least sounded receptive to waiving his no-trade clause.
But in order to make something happen, another team would have to want Anthony who struggled last season and is clearly on the decline. He’s not exactly a prime trade target for contending teams right now and one would have to think that’s where Melo would be willing to go.
That’s not to mention that Jackson’s public comments about Carmelo (whether regarding wanting to trade him or bizarrely claiming that he’s not a winning player) have hurt the former superstar’s reputation (not to mention Jackson’s).
In fact, according to a report from Fred Kerber of the New York Post, some league executives are adamant that Jackson has hurt Melo’s trade value:
“Phil made a statement basically that Carmelo’s a losing type of player. Well, if he’s a loser for the Knicks, he’s going to be a winner someplace else? That obviously didn’t help,” one Eastern Conference executive said.
“Tremendously,” another exec said when asked how much Jackson may have damaged Anthony’s trade value. “He essentially said, ‘I want to dump this guy.’ ”
“Most owners would just roast you if you said something like that,” the Eastern exec said, theorizing the return for Anthony could be “a protected first-round pick. It sure sounds like the Knicks want to get rid of him, so teams won’t give up any of their core to add him. That would be defeating the purpose.”
This shouldn’t be surprising. Giving up a major player or asset to get Anthony at this point in his career, with the Knicks holding no leverage at all, would be a fireable offense for any general manager.
At this point, the Knicks might have to pull the trigger on the first team willing to take Anthony that he approves of; they just have to move on from this situation.
