Knicks Rumors: Phil Jackson Determined To Trade Carmelo Anthony
New York Knicks Rumors: Phil Jackson is reportedly determined to trade Carmelo Anthony prior to the NBA Trade Deadline in February.
New York Knicks rumors really picked up in the last couple of weeks. Carmelo Anthony has been crushed in the media and by fans at times this season. He is always answering questions in front of the camera while Phil Jackson remains quiet.
The first shot was fired in December when Anthony called out Jackson. The back-and-forth in the media came to a head earlier this month when Charley Rosen, a Jackson confidant, ripped Anthony in a post saying his usefulness has run its course in New York.
This prompted another response from Anthony, who said, if his time in New York is over, that he and Jackson should talk things out. Anthony got his meeting with Jackson in which he reaffirmed his desire to not only stay in New York but win in the Big Apple as well.
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Anthony has most of the power when it comes to staying in New York. He has a no-trade clause in his contract so he can pretty much choose where he wants to go if he does leave. Following his meeting with Jackson, Anthony relented saying that he would consider waiving his no-trade clause if the Knicks wanted to go in a different direction.
"“I think it will be more on the front office,” Anthony told Newsday this week. “I have the power, but still I would talk to them. We would be in communication if they feel like they want to go in a different direction, they want to start rebuilding for the future. If they tell me they want to scrap this whole thing, yeah, I have to consider it.”"
Jackson must have decided it was time to go in a different direction. According to Adrian Wojnarowski and Chris Mannix of The Vertical, Jackson is determined to trade Anthony before the NBA Trade Deadline on February 23rd.
According to Wojnarowski and Mannix Jackson has reached out to the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers, in addition to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Clippers and Cavaliers are two teams that could interest Anthony because they are set up well and he has good friends on each team in Chris Paul and LeBron James.
The Cavaliers have dismissed the idea of trading for Anthony, as James called it ‘fantasy basketball.’ The Clippers do not own their first round pick in 2017, making them a difficult team to trade with if Jackson is looking to start the rebuild through the draft.
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Jackson can push to trade Anthony all he wants, but it will be a tall task. Anthony will have the final decision on where he gets traded, and it will be a contending team. That severely cuts down the options Jackson and the Knicks have to work with.