Carmelo Anthony is in no rush to decide his immediate future with the New York Knicks. The veteran superstar who has been involved in trade rumors all summer told reporters Wednesday that he’s at “peace” with his current situation and has not made any decisions on what he’ll do.
Ian Begley of ESPN.com has more:
Anthony, speaking to reporters at The Basketball Tournament’s Day of Giving in Baltimore, said he has not met with the Knicks about his situation.
Anthony has been connected to the Houston Rockets as a possible trade target this offseason. League sources have told ESPN that Houston is Anthony’s preferred destination if he waives his no trade clause and is dealt. However, he declined to comment Wednesday when asked about the Rockets.
“You know I can’t comment on that,” he said with a smile.
As he met with reporters in Baltimore during The Basketball Tournament’s Day of Giving, he opened up about what his last year has been like and more, writes Tim Schwartz of Newsday:
Carmelo Anthony didn’t want to talk about his future — or potentially lack thereof — with the Knicks at a charity event in his hometown of Baltimore on Wednesday morning.
He did, however, describe the last 12 months after winning Olympic gold in Rio as “an emotional rollercoaster.”
“But I had to find peace, I had to come to peace with myself, come to peace with kind of the situation I’m in, kind of try to find happiness again,” Anthony said while standing next to Baltimore City mayor Catherine Pugh. “I kind of lost that a little bit but I’m finding it now and it feels good.”
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Anthony was presented with a “mayor’s medallion” for his service and commitment to the community during the ceremony.
“I’m good. I just cut a ribbon, we in Baltimore. That’s all I’m focusing on,” he said. “I got a medal from the mayor today, so I’m good. I’m not really thinking about anything else at this point.”
The focus afterward, though, focused on Anthony’s drama-filled offseason with the Knicks.
He said he doesn’t plan to meet with the team this offseason and is at peace and was “a long time ago,” before saying he doesn’t know if he will be playing his home games at Madison Square Garden this upcoming season.
“I’ve been good. I’ve been away from the fray,” Anthony said. “You haven’t heard any comments from me. I’m growing my hair out right now, spending time with the family and I’m being an AAU dad right now. That’s what matters to me right now; nothing else really matters.”
The Knicks have a new front office structure, with Steve Mills taking over for Phil Jackson as team president and Scott Perry in place of Mills as general manager. Anthony has no plans to meet with them to discuss his future, at least not right now.
Anthony has a no-trade clause in his contract that gives him leverage only a couple of other players in the league enjoy.
