If the Knicks fail to drastically improve upon their 17-65 record this season, there has been speculation that Carmelo Anthony could be traded. Should that end up happening, Anthony insists it won’t be per his request.
On Monday, Carmelo was asked if he has thought about asking Phil Jackson for a trade if the Knicks struggle again.
“No, hell no,” he told Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. “I haven’t even — for me to get to that point and decide this is not what it’s going to be, I already came this far. That don’t even come across my mind at this point.”
Anthony has a no-trade clause as part of the five-year, $124 million contract he signed a little over a year ago. He insists any rumors about him potentially leaving the Knicks have been complete media fabrications.
“It’s a long list (of rumors),” Carmelo added. “The draft pick [of Kristaps Porzingis] was one. Me waiving my trade clause to me not wanting to be here is three. Just every day it was another team that I was going to be traded to.I was in everybody’s trade this offseason, so after a while, at first it’s like OK, I know it’s not true, it’s stupid. Then after a while it gets old, you start hearing the same thing from a different source every day, a different team every day.”
Anthony said it can get “overwhelming” having to address rumors all the time. One of the most recent reports regarding his future indicated the Knicks are getting “closer” to discussing potential trades for Melo.
We tend to believe that Anthony was unhappy with the way the Knicks used their first-round pick in this year’s NBA draft. He also essentially admitted that he was frustrated with the way the team approached meeting with the biggest ticket on the free agent market. Unless the Knicks contend for a playoff spot this year, it might not make sense to keep Anthony and his massive contract around.
