Tag: carmelo anthony

The New York Knicks are currently built around forwards Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis. Those are the key players right now. But while Porzingis just finished a very solid rookie season, Melo is the star. And if there’s one guy that Knicks boss Phil Jackson would consult with about a decision that greatly affects the entire team, it’s Melo. Here’s the New York Post reporting:

Carmelo Anthony’s input hasn’t been needed, or asked for, yet.

The Knicks star forward has yet to speak to Knicks president Phil Jackson about the ongoing coaching search, but plans to be involved at some point, after raising concerns late in another dreary season about the direction of the franchise and wanting to be involved in the decision-making process.

“I hope so,” he said on “The Dan Patrick Show” on Thursday when asked if he would have a role in who the next coach is.

One thing Anthony feels certain of is that Tom Thibodeau would have accepted the Knicks job had it been offered.

The Knicks are 22-25 this season and are getting 21.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game in the 42 games star forward Carmelo Anthony has played this season. Here’s the New York Post reporting on Melo’s knee situation:

Carmelo Anthony won’t play Thursday night in Toronto, but said he’s happy to be out of the woods.

Call off the alarm bells. Most of Anthony’s left knee soreness has gone away and he believes he will play Friday against the Suns at the Garden. He said he has no worries about any structural issues related to his surgically repaired torn patellar tendon.

If the Knicks weren’t playing on consecutive nights, Anthony probably would have given it a whirl against the Eastern Conference-power Raptors, who are looking for the franchise-record 10th straight win. Instead, Anthony will miss his second straight game and sixth of the season. The Knicks are 0-5 in the games he’s missed.

Here’s ESPN.com reporting that Melo will stick with the Knicks:

Carmelo Anthony has reached a deal to remain with the New York Knicks.

The team announced Sunday that it had re-signed Anthony, but did not disclose terms.

The contract will be for more than $122 million but less than the five-year, $129 million max figure, a source told ESPN The Magazine’s Chris Broussard on Saturday.

“After three months of questions around Carmelo Anthony’s return to the New York Knicks we are now happy to know that we have the cornerstone of what we envision as a ‘team of excellence,'” Knicks president Phil Jackson said in a statement. “… [Knicks general manager] Steve Mills and I have assured Carmelo through our conversations, that we share the vision and the determination to build this team.”

Here’s the New York Daily News reporting that unless something changes, Carmelo Anthony is expected to stick with the Knicks:

Carmelo Anthony is prepared to spend the prime years of his career in New York, the Daily News has learned.

A person close to Anthony told The News on Wednesday that barring a last minute change of heart Anthony will re-sign with the Knicks after “agonizing over this” for the past week.

“He will have something for everybody on Thursday,” said the friend who was with Anthony before Anthony’s scheduled workout with Kevin Durant and Kevin Love in Los Angeles on Wednesday. “He is really torn because this is the biggest decision of his career. But he wants to get it done in New York. He told me he believes in Phil.”

Here’s ESPN.com reporting on Carmelo Anthony free agency:

Carmelo Anthony has yet to publicly reveal the process by which he plans to entertain other teams in free agency now that he has opted out of his contract with the New York Knicks, but the Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers are among the teams that expect to have the opportunity to make their pitch to him starting July 1, according to sources close to the situation.

Teams can’t formally contact free agents until 12:01 a.m. ET July 1, but sources told ESPN.com that the Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat are two more teams that could join the race for Anthony, depending on how things play out before, during and after Thursday’s NBA draft.

The Bulls are widely regarded as the early favorite to steal Anthony from the Knicks, with sources saying Monday that Chicago has been quietly planning for this free-agent pursuit for months, going back to the January trade of Luol Deng to Cleveland. Sources say every move Chicago made during the season’s second half — including the seemingly minor signings of veterans Ronnie Brewer, Lou Amundson and Mike James to very tradeable contracts — was made with the hope they might be helpful in a potential sign-and-trade with the Knicks for Anthony.

Sources say the Rockets, meanwhile, have begun working on trade exits for center Omer Asik and point guard Jeremy Lin to clear enough space under the salary cap to make a representative offer to Anthony. The Rockets have been confident for some time, sources say, that they can not only move both players if necessary in deals that create the requisite flexibility but also rival the Bulls’ sales pitch.

Carmelo Anthony, like any NBA star, is ready and willing to play as many minutes as needed to help his team win. That doesn’t mean that he actually wants to be out there on the floor almost nonstop all game long. Here’s the New York Post:

Carmelo Anthony doesn’t lead the NBA in scoring, but he does lead the league in minutes, and that’s something he would prefer not to do, especially after spending so much of the summer rehabbing a torn left shoulder.

Anthony scored 45 points in the Knicks’ 109-106 loss to the Rockets on Thursday night, but also logged 45 minutes. Anthony, who is averaging 40.8 minutes per game, said he realizes with Tyson Chandler out at least another three weeks and J.R. Smith still feeling his way, he has to carry the load.

“I don’t want to play 45 minutes every night,’’ Anthony said Friday at the Boys Club in The Bronx, where he distributed free food as part of the Carmelo Anthony Foundation. “At this rate if that’s what I have to do to try to help this team, then I’m all for it.’’