On Tuesday, Carmelo Anthony told Knicks president Phil Jackson that he wants to stay in New York. Though Jackson’s fried Charlie Rose wrote that Anthony had “outlived his usefulness in New York,” we don’t know if Jackson wants to keep his highest paid player for the last 2 1/2 years of his contract.
One of Jackson’s first tasks as president, after all, was signing Anthony to a long-term contract, which included a trade kicker, which basically serves as a no-trade clause. Players and coaches have come and gone, but Anthony has been resolute in his desire to live and play in New York City.
The clock on that dream, however, may now be ticking a little louder.
While Anthony remains clear that his preference is to remain with the Knicks, he doesn’t want to feel unwanted. And he told Newsday’s Al Iannazzone on Friday that he’d consider waiving his no-trade clause if the Knicks didn’t want him around anymore.
Carmelo Anthony’s stance hasn’t changed. He wants to remain a Knick.
But in an exclusive interview with Newsday the Knicks star said he would consider leaving if that’s what the front office wanted.
Anthony has a no-trade clause in his contract, but he said he would be willing to listen to management if they told him they wanted to make a change.
“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.”
The Knicks declined to comment.
Anthony, 32, made it clear he isn’t thinking about going anywhere, nor does he allow himself at this point. He and his family love it in New York, and his son is in school here.
“We’re settled,” Anthony said.
The Knicks have lost 12 of their last 15 games and are three games in the loss column behind the eighth-place Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference. They rank 25th defensively and have allowed 110.5 points per 100 possessions (a rate which would rank last in the league) with Anthony on the floor. Anthony’s effective field goal percentage and true shooting percentage are both up from last season, but both are below the league average. He has taken a career-low 15 percent of his shots from the restricted area (down from 23 percent last season) and has attempted a career-low 5.2 free throws per game.
