Carmelo Anthony has been at the center of pretty much all of the New York Knicks’ drama this season, and he admitted that it’s a rather tiresome experience.
Anthony has been dogged by trade rumors, questions about his future, and stories of his fraying relationship with president Phil Jackson for some time now, all while being expected to lead the struggling Knicks out of mediocrity. He admitted Friday that it’s not an easy task to balance it all.
“You’ve got to deal with that, even though I try not to read it, and everywhere you go, even if you don’t hear about it, somebody is telling you about it, somebody is saying something,” Anthony said, via Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “It can be mentally draining, mentally fatiguing.
“You’ve got to be cut from a different cloth to take this day in and day out and to deal with this all day long every day. You’ve got to take the good with the bad. I don’t know how I do it, but I do it.”
Anthony admitted that the drama he experienced gave him a new respect for Patrick Ewing, who was also tabloid fodder during his time with the Knicks.
“Without a doubt,” Anthony said. “As a student of the game, you know what people go through in their own respective situations. Knowing the history of the game and knowing the history here and the players, he was one of those guys who kind of can relate to what I’m going through. Being able to still try to perform at a high level and block everything out, I mean, that’s somebody I can say understands what I’m dealing with.”
The latest story is a possible three-team deal centering around Anthony. Drama like this is going to continue right up until the trade deadline, and if he isn’t traded, well after, too.
