Carmelo Anthony Becoming Drained, Fatigued From Rumors

Carmelo Anthony admits that the rumors surrounding his New York Knicks future is draining at times.

Carmelo Anthony has seen and heard his name a lot recently. The New York Knicks are reportedly working hard to trade him, as Phil Jackson is determined to remove him from the roster. Anthony can ignore the rumors, but it is difficult to ignore the boos at the arena.

Anthony had boos rained down upon him at Madison Square Garden Friday night against the Charlotte Hornets. Those boos quickly turned to cheers when Anthony put a dagger in the Hornets with 13 seconds remaining. But, he admitted that the rumors and boos from the fans are beginning to wear on him.

"“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 of the trade rumors and drama around him and the Knicks. “It can be mentally draining, mentally fatiguing.”"

The boos and boisterous nature of the fans have been something Anthony has dealt with all season. They have gotten on him constantly for how he has played on the court; some of it has been warranted other times not as much.

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Anthony has reiterated that he wants to stay in New York with the Knicks; that has never wavered. But, he has said that he is willing to waive his no-trade clause if the Knicks want to head in another direction. That seems to be the case as Jackson is reportedly working the phones hard to move Anthony.

He has made calls to the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, and Cleveland Cavaliers to gauge their interest in a trade for Anthony. The Celtics and Cavaliers have both rebuffed the Knicks efforts, but the Clippers seem willing to talk about a trade for Anthony.

One player that can relate to what Anthony is dealing with is former Knicks great Patrick Ewing. Ewing is on the Hornets coaching staff and gave some insight to what Anthony is dealing with.

"“I just blocked it out and did my job,” Ewing told the Post. “You have to have tough skin. You can’t worry about what people think. As long as you’re out there doing your best, that’s all you can do.”"

Anthony said that you need to be cut from a different cloth to handle what comes with playing under the bright lights in New York. Ewing was eventually traded to the Seattle Supersonics during the 2000-01 season, a move the Knicks regret to this day. Would they feel the same regret if they make a decision to move Anthony in the next couple of weeks?

It is something that we’d have to wait and see play out. There are pros and cons to moving Anthony at this juncture. The Knicks are definitely better with Anthony on the court, as they have not won a game without him since the 2014-15 season.

But, he would also give the Knicks plenty of cap space moving forward and a chance to truly rebuild around Kristaps Porzingis. Anthony has all the power with the no-trade clause in his contract so it will be worth keeping an eye on.

Next: Does Carmelo Anthony To Clippers Make Sense?

Does he want to stick it out with the Knicks, or waive his no-trade clause and go to a team closer to contending than the Knicks?

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