Report: Phil Jackson’s treatment of Carmelo Anthony is deterring free agents
Phil Jackson is very obviously trying to badger Carmelo Anthony into waiving his no-trade clause to make it easier to deal the 32-year-old superstar, but is the New York Knicks president’s approach hurting the team’s chances to attract players in the future?
Jackson’s latest public shot at Anthony came in the form of a not-so-subtle tweet. After Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report published a story Tuesday blasting Carmelo for not having a winner’s mentality, Jackson essentially admitted he agrees.
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
Some have speculated that Jackson may have been criticizing himself for his inability to get through to Anthony, but the end game is obvious. Anthony is supposedly only willing to waive his no-trade clause for two or three teams, which greatly limits his trade value. If Jackson angers Carmelo enough, perhaps that list will grow and Anthony will want out of New York at any cost.
While Jackson may ultimately get his wish with Carmelo, Ian Begley of ESPN.com reports that he was told by “multiple prominent agents” that the way Jackson has dealt with Anthony would deter their clients and other players from signing with the Knicks in free agency. You’d have to think that is an unintended consequence for Jackson.
Begley also notes that there is concern all of the drama surrounding Anthony could be hurting the development of Kristaps Porzingis, whom the Knicks want to build around. Porzingis indicated as much when talking about the team’s lack of trust after a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.
“We don’t have that trust. Some games we do, some games we don’t. Some games we have that second effort, some games we don’t, like today,” Porzingis said. “If we had the answer, I would tell you something. But it’s just not there. It’s kind of everybody for [themselves] a lot of times — both ends of the floor. So I wish I had the answer.”
Even if Anthony lacks leadership qualities and a killer instinct, the way Jackson has lambasted him publicly (first with these comments back in December) is not a good look. Why would another star player want to risk joining the Knicks and finding himself in Jackson’s crosshairs? Jackson the executive may not have the same influence Jackson the coach once had.
