Carmelo Anthony Reiterates Faith in Phil Jackson as the Knicks Look to the Long Term

I love the headline in this story. "Carmelo Anthony reiterates faith in Phil Jackson for the long term". Amusing when you consider how many rings Jackson brings to the table and how many Anthony brings. Jackson has nothing to prove. He knows how to build a team. Anthony is overpriced and shows no leadership or fire in his belly. Not someone to put faith in if the goal is to win a championship.

Someone help me out on this (NY Times, you're welcome to chime in):

With the Knicks playing the way THEY are, and the Rangers, the team they share MSG with, playing the way THEY are, why are the Knicks' stories always front-and-center on the NYT's website, whereas the Rangers' stories are a mere afterthought, often buried near the bottom via a one-line, small-font headline - and with no photo?

With apologies to my college English professors for the run-on sentence).

Ask a Nuggets fan their thoughts on Marsh Mello.....
In his time at the mile high city, we threw all kinds of support players at him....yeah, we got into the playoffs, but mostly finished in the 1st round. he is NOT a player to build a contender around. He gets his points...but the TEAM isn't better with him. REAL stars make the other players better. He is at most a support player to a couple superstars - Poor shot selection, plays little to no D, clogs up the flow of a game by dribble, dribble, dribble...

to Melo. Phil Jackson was very successful as a coach MAINLY because he INHERITED teams that were loaded with very good/great players right down the line. for your sake, hope he has some idea of how to build a team from scratch, but I doubt it.

Phil must trade one last piece of this puzzle: Anthony. Phil was brought in to do the hard things. Stop bandaging a wound that has been festering since Pat Riley's tenure- overpaid talents with no high picks

MAN BITES DOG DEPARTMENT?

Carmelo reiterates faith in Phil. How about the reverse?

Please spare us from anything Anthony has to say. He is a major cause of the Knicks' pathetic performance, and the first one who should be traded or released if there is to be any hope of a future for this team.

I would have traded Carmelo and kept J.R. and Shump. Give Smith the same number of looks/emphasis that Anthony gets on a regular basis and the points would be close and the offense would move better. I can also see Shump coming out of his slump and regaining some form.

This is, of course, foolishness. But within that foolishness, I think, is some truth. I look forward to seeing J.R. -- of whom I'm perversely fond -- have a break-out season for the Cavs. I don't see Carmelo ever being as good again as he once was.

The big contract for Melo and Kobe are different. Kobe is in probably the last 2 years of his career. Not sure why the Lakers gave him such a big contract, I suppose as a business decision since he sells seats at Staples so it makes sense. From a basketball perspective not so much. Melo on the other hand still has productive years ahead of him at 30 years old. Not sure I would build a franchise around him, but if Phil gets the right teammates around him, they can at least make the playoffs. Honestly, not sure the triangle will ever be adopted by Melo, and then what? The big winner appears to be Steve Kerr who half way through the season is coaching the team with the best record instead of the team with the worst record.

Well, what else can Phil do but look to the future? Can't fix this season even though it's not even half over. Rest Carmelo and get him ready for next season. Build a team around him and you should be able to make the playoffs next season. I can say this since I have never paid money for a Knicks ticket, but if I was a season ticket holder I'd be wanting a refund. Everyone I know became a Knicks fan during Linsanity. We bought the NBA league pass just so we could watch Knicks games. We listened to all the post game interviews, bought jerseys, watched every game. Then the Knicks acquired Raymond (overweight, gun toting) Felton without even saying a word to the press about Jeremy. After that, we all hated the Knicks and hoped they'd lose every game or at least be in last place in the East. Our hopes came true at about halfway through the 2014/2015 season. Still, Linsanity was the most thrilling and fun time in the NBA we've ever seen.

John Itzik used the same formula. Look where he is now. Phil will be there too in a year.

“I kind of knew that it was going to be kind of a rebuilding kind of situation,” Anthony said. “But to be in a situation we’re in, from a record situation, I couldn’t imagine this in a long time, a lot of years.”

Quoth the eloquent spokesman. R (see below) is right: Knicks will never win with this guy.

Anthony says he, "had to really try to calm them down and kind of let them know everything was going to be all right." Did he "kind of let them know" as this self appointed leader of the team, that they should play defense and share the ball. Some leaders lead by example some can do that and talk about it. How can Anthony offer anything worthwhile if he is only just about talk? That Smith had "difficulty processing the trade" shouldn't be to much of a surprise to anyone but him. He has serious processing problems with reality in general and basketball specifically. As far as Anthony being a mentor for Shumpert, he has now graduated from basketball kindergarten, to a level that only Lebron James can bring to the table. Anthony's "opportunity with the trust" should have started long before this moment, showing and fostering a sense of trust with his teammates. I'd wager he'll be "shocked" when Jackson gets rid of him or when he decides to bolt while blaming everyone but himself.

Can anyone imagine what the Knick's practices must look like ? Jason Smith chucks the ball whenever he gets it, taking his cue from Stoudemire. Bargnani plays the lute in the stands. Hardaway plays no-way defense. Prigione guards the water cooler. Hopefully, rookie Cleanthony Early, fresh off four years at Wichita State, leading them to an undefeated regular season last year (32-0), is absorbing absolutely nothing so he can start fresh with a functional team sooner than later. And then there is Carmelo Anthony and his partner, James Dolan. Yes, Dolan, not Phil Jackson. All the comments about Anthony--does anyone think Phil and Walt Frazier have not seen all of this ? But here's a thought for another day-- the NBA should make a public push to get the player's association to agree that 20% of all salaries in each conference go into a pool, to be redistributed based on where the team finishes in its conference in the regular season. The last playoff team in the conference gets back slightly more than the 20%, and the first team that just missed (ninth place) gets back slightly less than the 20%, and redistribute from there. When the players squawk, push it publicly. Then we'll see who makes the effort to play defense all game or all year, and who tries to take better quality shots.

Carmelo's trust in Jackson's ability to turn the team around is ironic, because that albatross contract signed with Anthony proves Jackson hasn't got a clue.

I find it astonishing that this franchise has just transcended the new jersey bi-planes (aka ny jets) as the most ineptly run sports team in the history of new York, if not all of sports
yeah, I know the knicks won a championship as "late" as 1973" while the jets haven't won since 1970
what i'd like to know is how walt frazier, mike breen, al trautwig, wally szcerbiak et al are able to continue to cover this team without wincing

After 40 years of futility Jackson/Dolan/Fisher have alot of nerve to ask fans to shell out astronomical prices for tickets to watch this extraordinarily bad team take the floor. Only Larry Johnson had the honesty to call the players out. All the babblespeak is an insult to intelligent fans. And Anthony got what he most wanted, MONEY, not WINNING.
So all you lawyers keep buying your season tickets, you're getting what you deserve.

It's easy to heap abuse on Anthony, but as I recall, when J.R. Smith kept his head in the game, Chandler defended the rim, and Novak dropped three's, this was a pretty good team. It didn't fall apart because of Anthony. Management is squarely to blame.

Robert is right. It is possible that literally NO ONE will be buying tickets at the box office for the rest of this season. Anyone foolish enough to want to go to a game will be buying on Stubhub or ticketmaster. Will Dolan furlough the people who work in sales and marketing? Dolan often comes off as a big spender. In reality he is a spend thrift who is more interested in sales than Ws.

Why anybody would pay to see this dysfunctional team is laughable. The five year contract of Carmelo Anthony will rank right up there with the Lakers's Steve Nash contract ( paid a lot money for nothing). Thanks Phil

Robert

The bottom line is the same...with Carmelo in a NY Knick uniform....they will not win....

What is being forgotten is that Phil Jackson wanted Carmelo Anthony, not Chandler but Anthony. Jackson is where the "buck stops," and the rings should not be used as an excuse. Jackson has so far formed the poorest or near poorest team in the NBA. And as for playing with what your have, the Knicks are impossibly ragged. Where is the coaching? Anthony wins with a good cast and good coaching.

So how about some unwarranted optimism: Jackson finds a real point guard who has the chops to get Melo to pass, and a center who cleans up everyone's mistakes, and a shooting guard who can really shoot and why not also play a little defense - e.g., Curry, Bogut, Thompson. Hehe hehe, chuckle

Anthony signed for the money and the attention top players get in NYC even if the team is awful. He also fancies himself an entrepreneur with big ideas post basketball so presumably he was advised that being in NYC is preferable to say Houston or Dallas. His wife has similarly grandiose media ambitions so NYC on his $25 million a year suits her. He probably wasn't expecting this team to be the worst in the NBA (no one did). But here we are. Nothing to do with trust, commitment to the franchise or any other silly reasons he's given over the last few months. He wanted his money and he got it. If he wanted to win he should have gone to Chicago.

I keep on thinking of the trade of a No. 1 draft choice for Bargnani and ask why the Commissioner of the NBA didn't nix that trade. Surely there must be another GM out there who wants him and will give up too much to get him?

Is Jackson snowing Anthony? Or does Anthony just not get that he's not the "rock" that anyone is going to build a team upon?

As Clueless as Cutler in Chicago?

Look what the Raptors did a year ago.

The Raps pawned their $20 million a year guy Rudy Gay on the Sacramento Kings. They got a bunch of no name players in return. But these were guys anxious to fit in and play their roles. Greivis Vasquez is now the point guard on their second unit and a valued member of this highly successful team. Chuck Hayes plays periodically when his size and width can add value against another big in the paint.

Guess who's won bunches of more games since the trade? That's right, the Raptors.

Meanwhile, back in Sacramento, Gay still gets his shots. Still scores his points. The Kings still lose.

Trades like this aren't lost on Mr. Jackson.

The fly in the ointment is Mr. Anthony's knee. If he was healthy he'd be tradeable to some contenduh. If it isn't, he'll have to have surgery and spend another year with the rebuilding-from-scratch Knickerbockers.

Hey, from where 'Melo sits it's a pretty good gig.

Oh, "it has been hard" on "poor" Melo ... doing his best?

... shooting 35%, utterly self-absorbed in himself, and utterly and totally failing to provide any hint of the sort of team leadership that any veteran is supposed to provide to a struggling team, not to mention a mega-millions "star"!

He's clearly a huge part of the "problem"!

At this point, there is no other team that will want to touch Anthony. He is totally useless. Cut him, write off the massive salary, and move on.

When an executive decides to undermine a team to build a new team so that a year of a 5 year term is tossed away with only a hope of success after, we may need to wonder just a little about the ability of the executive. Also, I am troubled by an executive who hires a coach who does not seem able to teach the sort of basketball the executive wanted.

Possibly Coach Kerr knew there was trouble ahead, big trouble, in deciding to work in California. Coach Kerr who was mocked by the executive on not taking the job with the Knicks seem able to teach just what is necessary.

I, too, believe that Jackson will be able to turn the team around. But I suspect that will involve getting rid of Anthony.