If the New York Knicks can’t turn the season around by the 2017 NBA Trade Deadline, then it will be time to move on from the Carmelo Anthony era.
The Phil Jackson and Carmelo Anthony saga is getting uglier by the day. As the New York Knicks continue to struggle to piece together victories, the trade rumors have grown more incessant and the future indiscernible.
If the Knicks are unable to reverse the trajectory of the season by the 2017 NBA Trade Deadline, then it will be time to move on from the Anthony era.
Understand that the point being made here is not that Anthony is or isn’t the problem with the Knicks. To his credit, his effort has been far more consistent than the critics have stated during the Jackson era.
As the Knicks look up at .500 from 20-27 with just 35 games remaining and a brutal schedule ahead of them, however, it’s time to look at reality.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, Jackson appears to be doing exactly that.
Armed with a hope that Carmelo Anthony will eventually waive his no-trade clause, the New York Knicks have reached out to the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers to probe their interest in a trade, league sources told The Vertical.
Knicks president Phil Jackson is determined to find a destination and deal that Anthony would agree to accept before the Feb. 23 NBA trade deadline, league sources said.
Anthony is 32 years of age and Jackson hasn’t hidden his desire to execute a complete rebuild. He drafted Kristaps Porzingis against the wishes of Knicks fans and media members, and found Willy Hernangomez and Mindaugas Kuzminskas as diamonds in the Liga ACB rough.
Jackson also landed the likes of Ron Baker, Justin Holiday, and Kyle O’Quinn in unheralded offseason moves.
Unfortunately, those acquisitions were a sign of forward thinking and his value of long-term potential. That isn’t unfortunate when one is building something long-term, but for a team with a 32-year-old star, it doesn’t fit the timeline.
Thus, while the current situation is ugly, the solution is mutually beneficial: New York must either completely commit to Anthony or completely commit to rebuilding.
Trying to find a middle-ground is why New York is 20-27.
By that measurement, it’s also why the Knicks haven’t made the playoffs during the Phil Jackson era.
In the case of Anthony, he can move on to a team that will provide him with the stability that Jackson can’t. From a basketball perspective, he’d be going to a team that would be trading for him under the impression that he’d stay for the duration of his contract.
From a personal perspective, Anthony won’t have to worry about moving his family every time the trade deadline rolls around.
For the Knicks, Jackson would be given the opportunity to execute a complete rebuild around the youth movement. Kristaps Porzingis and Willy Hernangomez have flashed star potential, and the likes of Ron Baker, Justin Holiday, and Mindaugas Kuzminskas have become fan favorites.
There’s no guaranteeing that Jackson will be able to build the contender that he envisions, but the youth movement has long conflicted with the need to appease the veterans.
No matter how emotional a decision it may be, if the season doesn’t stabilize by the trade deadline, the best thing for both parties to do will be to move on.
Fair or foul, the next month should determine the future of the Carmelo Anthony era.
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