Carmelo Anthony’s partnership with Phil Jackson in New York is better left forgotten. Now Anthony is explaining why he never clicked with Jackson.
The ten-time All-Star appeared this week on Showtime’s “All the Smoke.” In the interview, Anthony touched on his time with the Knicks as well as his relationship with former team president Jackson.
“When Phil came, it was just like, he cut that line of communication off from me with the front office, from the staff members, even players,” he said. “I’m like, ‘Damn, you talking to him about me, you going to him, talking to him about you. But I’m right here.’ The minute that I knew that was the game that was being played, like nah.”
Anthony also said there has been no closure between him and Jackson since.
“I don’t need closure,” said Anthony. “I stood tall during my time, so it is what it is. You feel the way you feel about me, you say what you gotta say about me. I know if I had a sit-down with you, you wouldn’t say that. You’d say something totally different. You’re gonna tell me something like, ‘Oh, it wasn’t like that.’ I ain’t really got time for that. I don’t need it at this point.”
Jackson lasted just three years as president of the Knicks. His time there was marred by losing and poor relationships with others in the organization. With Anthony in particular, Jackson publicly criticized him countless times, including accusing Anthony of being a ball hog. It got to the point that many thought Jackson was trying to push Anthony out of New York by angering him to the point that Anthony would waive the no-trade clause that he had.
Anthony did eventually waive his no-trade clause by OK’ing a move to the Oklahoma City Thunder. But that did not occur until after Jackson was fired as Knicks president. Anthony has since had a happy ending of sorts with a career resurgence in Portland and now a shot at winning his first NBA title with the Los Angeles Lakers. But his bridge with Jackson still appears to be burnt to a crisp.
H/T ClutchPoints
