Phil Jackson is showing Carmelo Anthony who’s boss.
Out in Las Vegas on Monday night during the NBA summer league, Jackson let the world know that he kept Anthony in the dark during the team’s free-agent signings and it was not because he couldn’t locate his only star.
It’s because Jackson wants it that way.
Starting with LeBron James, NBA superstars often get round-the-clock updates from their team during the free-agency scramble. Teams do that not just out of courtesy, but because those franchise talents actually hold real power within the organization.
But not Anthony.
“Well, you know, we’re a team sport,” Jackson said when asked why he had not consulted with the team’s top player. “When we’re putting a team together that’s our first priority; how do we make a team that works together? That’s the important aspect. How this all comes together is still a mystery for us. We’ve got five months to kind of get into it here. Hopefully we’ll be able to step on the court and play a little bit. Carmelo is a guy who’s a premier player, [but] it’s a team game.’’
Anthony still has a certain amount of clout. He has a no-trade clause in the five-year, $124 million deal he signed last summer. He can wield that power if the Knicks want to move him and he doesn’t want to leave New York. Otherwise, he learned a cold, hard fact over the last two weeks: He’s a franchise player in name only.
Last summer, Anthony could have left for title contenders in Houston and Chicago, but he chose to stay, despite the fact that Jackson made a name for himself by coaching the Bulls and Lakers to 11 championships, but -- and here’s the critical point – had never had built a team before.
‘Melo was all-in with Jackson, declaring he “believes in Phil.’’ But how much Anthony still believes in Jackson’s ability to surround him with enough talent to win is the question.
And it’s a legitimate one, since Jackson came away with an unimpressive haul in free agency after the top available talent, LaMarcus Aldridge, didn’t even give the Knicks a meeting. He spent close to $100 million on four players, none of whom are close to being stars or the second scoring option Anthony desperately needs.
According to Jackson, that was by design, as he criticized previous Knick management for chasing stars in the past.
"I don't look at basketball that way," he told reporters during halftime of the Knicks-Lakers summer league game. "That's what we've done over the years in New York. That's not what I'm doing. We're going after solid players that will step into vacuums and play ball, and if we have a system that we play basketball together with, that will all work out."
Jackson has taken the defensive approach, bringing in a rim protector in Robin Lopez and a solid wing defender in Arron Afflalo, who is also expected to provide leadership. That’s fine, but just remember that when they played last season in Portland, they were almost always the Blazers’ fifth-and sixth-most important players, at best. Now Jackson has them penciled in for key roles, which could be a stretch since they’re both very limited at the offensive end.
The player who could have helped take some of the scoring load off of Anthony, Greg Monroe, was the Knicks’ primary target in free agency. But after meeting with the former Piston first, when the period started early in the morning on July 1, the Knicks lost out when Monroe chose Jason Kidd’s Bucks.
The surprising loss of Monroe, who Jackson saw as a perfect fit in his triangle offense, can be mainly attributed to the Knicks coming off a 17-win season, while the Bucks sold Monroe on a better roster, playing for Kidd, and coming to a rising team in the East that won 41 games and made the playoffs last season.
“Greg went to the right spot,’’ Jackson said. “That’s the right place for him.’’
But when are the Knicks going to be the right place for free agents who will really make a difference and get them back on the road to the playoffs? Jackson knows what has to happen if he’s going to have a chance to just get in a meeting with Kevin Durant, the top free agent, next July 1.
"Win," he said. "We need to win. Be a competitive team. I think we showed agents and players around the league of a serious nature of what we're trying to get accomplished. People who know basketball will recognize that and we'll get people who want to come here.’’
It all sounds good in theory, anyway. But you really have to wonder if it will ever work, especially if you’re Carmelo Anthony.
Longtime New York columnist Mitch Lawrence continues to write about pro basketball, as he’s done for the last 22 years. His columns for NBCNewYork.com on the Knicks, Brooklyn Nets and the NBA, along with other major sports, will appear twice weekly. Follow him on Twitter.
