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New York Knicks: Why Carmelo Anthony needs to leave New York

By Matthew Travis

Apr 6, 2017; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) inspects the ball before a game against the Washington Wizards at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 6, 2017; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) inspects the ball before a game against the Washington Wizards at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks have had a fallout recently and his future in New York is in question.

Carmelo Anthony has been loyal to New York, choosing the New York Knicks over the Chicago Bulls when he was a free agent in 2014. Since signing that contract, the Knicks have been one of the worst teams in the league and Carmelo has suffered through injury after injury.

In mid-April Phil Jackson made headlines when he said that the Knicks would be better off without Carmelo, as reported by CBS Sports.

"“We have not been able to win with him on the court at this time,” Jackson told reporters. “And I think the direction with our team is that he is a player that will be better off somewhere else and using his talent somewhere where he can win or chase that championship. Right now we need players that are really active, can play every single play defensively and offensively. That’s really important for us.”"

Simply put, both the Knicks and Carmelo Anthony would be better off with Carmelo in another uniform. Carmelo would benefit because he could finally be on a team with a chance. The Knicks would benefit because they need to start the rebuilding process and build their team around Kristaps Porzingis. When Carmelo leaves New York the Knicks will be terrible for 2-3 years but it will allow them to get lottery picks and surround Porzingis with young players ready to put the Knicks back on top of the basketball world.

There were rumors that Carmelo could be traded as soon as this past seasons trade deadline, that obviously did not happen. However, it shows where the Knicks and Carmelo Anthony stand on Anthony’s future in New York.

Carmelo Anthony is an unrestricted free-agent in 2019, but he will be out of New York before then. Carmelo’s legacy has been in question since this past summer when the United States won yet another men’s basketball Gold. Ever since then the question has been whether or not Carmelo would ever win a ring. Well now it is Carmelo’s chance to leave for a contender.

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The top landing spots for Carmelo Anthony are:

  1. The Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers have had recent success getting the four seed this year before losing to the Jazz in the first round. If the Clippers manage to get both Blake Griffin and Chris Paul back they could be a legitimate contender with Carmelo Anthony. With Carmelo the starting lineup would be, Chris Paul, Austin Rivers/Jamal Crawford, Carmelo Anthony, Blake Griffin and Deandre Jordan.
  2. The Boston Celtics. The Celtics are the obvious choice as they just got the 1 seed in the East and they now have the first overall pick in the draft. With the addition of Carmelo Anthony the Celtics could be a serious problem for Lebron James and the Cavs. With Carmelo Anthony the Celtics starting lineup would be Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, Carmelo Anthony, Al Horford and Amir Johnson.
  3. The Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks are a team that just finished 5th in the East and a team that could significantly improve with Carmelo. Atlanta has been a team that is constantly in the playoffs and a team that is very consistent. With Carmelo Anthony the starting lineup would be Dennis Schroeder, Tim Hardaway Jr., Carmelo Anthony, Paul Millsap and Dwight Howard.

Trading Anthony has proven to be difficult. However, the Knicks certainly seem motivated to try and move their star.

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