Storyline: Wednesday’s debacle at The Garden with Charles Oakley shows just how bad things are in NY. Change begins with both Phil Jackson and Carmelo Anthony leaving the Knicks.
The Knicks have been a NBA laughingstock since Jeff Van Gundy quit in Dec. 2001. The team is best known for losing and drama.
Courtesy: boston.com
Nothing has changed in over fifteen years. The Knicks still stink. And at the top of the stink pile there’s dissension between the Knicks’ star player, Carmelo Anthony, and the Knicks’ president of basketball operations, Phil Jackson. It’s Stephon Marbury vs. Isiah Thomas all over again.
It’s ugly. It’s obvious that each has no use for the other. At some point, Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan will need to step in and do something.
I think it means getting rid of both of them. It that has to happen.
There’s no looking back as I see it. The relationship is over. Too much bad blood creates lack of trust and awkwardness. It’s not healthy for a team that desperately needs to build a team concept.
Perhaps the straw that broke the camel’s back is what Jackson has enabled in the press. Lackeys have written damning pieces about Anthony. And it’s obvious what the Knicks; president has told them privately.
Courtesy: The New Yorker
In Tuesday’s Bleacher Report, Kevin Ding penned a piece about Anthony not being Jackson’s type of player. It’s a lost cause, he wrote: Jackson can’t get through to Anthony. The Knicks’ star doesn’t seem to have the desire to win and he also doesn’t seem inclined to share the basketball either.
Jackson tweeted approval of Ding’s column on his Twitter page. Remember, Ding used to cover Jackson in LA for the Orange County Register. So it’s reasonable to assume that Jackson had a role in this story.
Tuesday’s article comes after Charley Rosen wrote in FanRag Sports about Anthony outliving his usefulness with the Knicks. He said Anthony has a tendency to be a ball-stopper and doesn’t make an effort to play defense.
Rosen has known Jackson from days with the then-CBA Albany Patroons. Rosen was an assistant. So there’s no question the Knicks’ boss was talking with Rosen. Even the Knicks’ forward knew it, which is why he expressed frustration about not being appreciated.
There’s no way Anthony can win the Zen Master’s approval–no matter how hard he tries. Anthony prefers an isolation offense because it suits his game and he can score at will. That’s his strength and he’s not going to change at this point of his career.
Courtesy: keywordssuggest.org
So starting over without these two makes sense for the Knicks. And any effort at re-building has to be done without Jackson. That’s because Phil has lost the benefit of the doubt by his shoddy work in New York.
His first trade–Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton for an ineffective Shane Larkin, struggling Jose Calderon, Wayne Ellington, and the useless Samuel Dalembert–was a disaster His second trade was no better–J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert for basically nothing.
Outside of drafting Kristaps Porzingis and Willy Hernangomez Jackson’s drafts have been awful … from Cleanthony Early to Thanasis Antetokounmpo. And his free agent signings haven’t panned out either (e.g., Robin Lopez, Derrick Williams, Arron Afflalo). Even the heralded Joakim Noah has been a bust.
Perhaps the biggest thing against Jackson is this: he hasn’t changed the culture. The Knicks have lost consistently. Controversy engulfs the team and Jackson is often right in the middle of it. Amazingly, Jackson is no better than failed executive, Isiah Thomas. What makes anyone think it will get better if he stays?
But while Anthony has to go, the problem is that he has a no-trade clause. He has no interest in leaving New York, either. His wife and his son love it here. Lifestyle in the city trumps winning.
Courtesy: Opencourt Basketball
Yes, Anthony should go for his own good and for the Knicks’ good. He can get a fresh start elsewhere and the team will get a fresh start, too. Besides, Knicks fans are done with Melo. He has been a Knick for five years now and the losing continues.
As much as Dolan likes Anthony, he has to be tired of the losing and the drama. But will Anthony go? According to Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Anthony has no interest in letting Jackson run him out of town.
Make no mistake about it, at least one of them is likely gone and odds are that Jackson will be that guy. He’ll likely opt-out after this season. But he can’t be the only one. It’s time for a change and change requires a two-man game.
