The New York Knicks made no moves at the NBA trade deadline, and Carmelo Anthony wonders if that was part of the plan or the result of the absence of one.
After the deadline passed on Thursday, Anthony was asked if he understands the direction the team is heading in. He was quite blunt.
“No, not now. No, to be honest with you,” Anthony said, via Ian Begley of ESPN.com. “I think they were kind of planning on the trade deadline, whether they were trying to make moves. I think that was one plan. Now they’ve got to get back to the drawing board and come up with another plan about the future of this team.”
For a while it sounded like the Knicks were close to trading Derrick Rose to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Ricky Rubio, but that ultimately fell through. Anthony himself was also the subject of countless trade rumors during the month of February. While the 32-year-old claimed to have “no reaction” to the team not making a move, it’s obvious he remains frustrated with Phil Jackson’s leadership.
“Yeah, I mean, nobody likes to be in limbo,” he added. “We all want to know kind of what’s going on, especially when it’s involving you. But that’s not the way it is in sports. I don’t think I’m the only one that’s going through that or feeling that way. I think there’s other players who feel the same way, that they want to be involved — not involved, but at least up to date with what’s going on.”
Jackson’s offseason that included trading for Rose and signing Joakim Noah gave Knicks fans hope, but New York is destined to miss the playoffs once again. And if the report we heard about Jackson’s approach to the trade deadline is accurate, it’s fair to wonder if he sees himself with the team long-term. Big changes could be coming this summer.
