Knicks: Will Carmelo Anthony, Phil Jackson Discuss LeBron James?

After New York Knicks team president Phil Jackson‘s comment about LeBron James‘ business associates, will he need to explain his words to Carmelo Anthony?

New York Knicks team president Phil Jackson came under fire for his comments directed toward Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James and his exit from the Miami Heat after the 2013-14 season.

Jackson referred to James’ associates as a “posse” in an interview with ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan:

"It had to hurt when they lost LeBron. That was definitely a slap in the face. But there were a lot of little things that came out of that. When LeBron was playing with the Heat, they went to Cleveland and he wanted to spend the night. They don’t do overnights. Teams just don’t. So now (coach Erik) Spoelstra has to text Riley and say, ‘What do I do in this situation?’ And Pat, who has iron-fist rules, answers, ‘You are on the plane, you are with this team.’ You can’t hold up the whole team because you and your mom and your posse want to spend an extra night in Cleveland."

In fairness to Jackson, he didn’t go out of his way to talk about James’ circle. His answer came after discussing the breakdown between Miami Heat president Pat Riley and current Chicago Bulls guard Dwyane Wade. The quote above suggested James’ departure led to further complications to keep another star in South Beach.

James, in a despondent manner, responded to Jackson’s comments. According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, the NBA superstar lost respect for Jackson:

James’ business partner, Maverick Carter, also expressed disappointment in Jackson’s word usage via Twitter:

Connection to Carmelo Anthony

How does this trace back to New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony?

Well, we all know players talk to each other before, after and during the season about other players, teams and management structures. James and Anthony have an established long-tenured friendship. Anthony will likely converse behind closed doors with James about his boss’ comments.

After Tuesday’s practice, the Knicks forward sided with James and Carter on the inappropriate use of the word posse (h/t ABC News):

"I would never want to hear that word about me and my—I don’t want to say crew but—people I consider family and I’ve come up with and been through thick and thin. I would want to be called a tight-knit group or a family, but that’s what I consider those people to me.I think anybody would understand that. Anybody. I don’t think you have to be a rocket scientist or an educated person to kind of understand what it means to us."

In Jackson’s interview with MacMullan, the Knicks team president talked about his intimate communications with Anthony and how he’s different from Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant:

"Carmelo likes communication. He likes a relationship. I was with a number of players who were fine with a player-coach relationship, which involved support, ‘How are you feeling?’ that kind of stuff. Shaq, Kobe, that’s all they wanted or needed. They were busy. I was never the guy who said, ‘Let’s go out to dinner.’ But with Melo, I do that. Not as much as I’d like, but we do it, because he likes that part of it."

According to Jackson, his relationship with Anthony goes beyond basketball. They’ve also talked about activism. As witnessed over the past several months, the Knicks forward has gone on stage and overseas to voice the urgency to unite on the home front. Jackson admires the positive message.

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However, he may have stepped into a small beehive with his comments toward Anthony’s close friend, who just lost respect for the Zen Master.

The word posse may come up in the next intimate outing between Jackson and Anthony. While it’s a conversation better suited for the Knicks president and James, it’s reasonable to expect Anthony to approach his boss with questions about his choice of language.