Things are really beginning to look cloudier and cloudier for New York basketball. The Knicks continue to slump, fresh off an embarrassing 121-107 loss to a similarly struggling Los Angeles Lakers team. While their play on the court has been erratic at best, things have looked even worse for them off the court and in the locker room/front office.
There have been rumors flying of an imminent trade centered around highly discussed superstar Carmelo Anthony. It seems like nowadays everyone has their own opinion on which team is best for Melo, and the situation would have to be one he approves of due to the inclusion of a no-trade clause in his hefty contract. While things have really begun heating up in the trade talk department, most notably with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the friction between Anthony and Knicks President Phil Jackson is still evident. In fact, just earlier today, Jackson took to Twitter to add some fuel to the fire:
Bleacher's Ding almost rings the bell, but I learned you don't change the spot on a leopard with Michael Graham in my CBA daze.
— Phil Jackson (@PhilJackson11) February 7, 2017
While it may be hard to decipher or completely grasp what the Zen Master is saying at first, it’s easy to see a shot at Anthony once you read into it. The tweet is referring to an article written by Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding this morning in which he discusses the dilemma Phil Jackson and the Knicks are in right now. Ding talks about the negative differences of rostering Anthony as opposed to Jackson’s two biggest stars Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant:
Anthony is a likable person who just happens to be nothing near Jordan or Bryant in will to win. No, Jackson never thought Anthony had that fire, but he thought he could balance Anthony’s ball dominance by teaching teamwork and converting talent into a clear net positive.
That was part of the formula with Jordan and Bryant.
This season has further disproved that formula with Anthony.
As for the latter part of the tweet, Jackson brings up his old Continental Basketball Association player Michael Graham who was said to be uncooperative with the blueprint laid out which eventually led to his release. Obviously, comparing Anthony to a player known for his lack of cooperation is not a good look.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Phil do something like this but with the amount of damage done to the relationship between Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks front office, the likelihood of him being dealt before this year’s trade deadline seemingly continues to increase.
