Phil Jackson isn’t going to be so lucky and get himself a do-over here.
No, the Zen Master is stuck in his rebuilding no-man’s land for the foreseeable future with Carmelo Anthony, if not longer.
Anthony on Friday shot down a story that had him agreeing to waive his no-trade clause so that the Knicks could move him to a winning situation. If the story were true, it would have been manna from heaven for Jackson, who is finding out the hard way that hitching his wagon to Anthony will make for a longer and more arduous rebuilding process than he could have ever imagined when he signed a $60-million deal to bring the Knicks a winner.
But Jackson is not getting out of this fix anytime soon, as Anthony made clear to reporters in Boston on Friday morning, when he shot down the rumors at the Knicks’ shootaround that he wants out.
“After all the work I did to get here and get back here?’’ he said. “If I was to get up and want to leave now that would just make me weak, make me have a weak mind. I've never been a person to try to run from any adversity or anything like that, so I'm not going to pick today to do that."
He’s not going to pick tomorrow, the next day, or next year, either. Bet on that.
Here’s why: Anthony is far more consumed with building his brand and wanting to become something of a CEO, with all of his lucrative off-court business endeavors, than he is with winning. So he’s not about to leave New York when his stated goal is to be known for more than just being a professional basketball player.
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Anthony basically said all of that in a recent “ESPN The Magazine’’ cover story that told you all you need to know about the Knicks’ scoring star, who might not take the court in Boston tonight against the Celtics because of a balky knee, and his team of business advisers who are totally oblivious to the fact that a basketball player makes his legacy by what he does in one place.
The basketball court.
But ‘Melo has bought into the whole, crazy “I can be a business mogul’’ dream when he should be putting his entire focus on how he can make the Knicks better. He makes the most money, so it starts with him.
Although it pained him to miss the playoffs last season for the first time in his NBA career, Anthony still was more than willing to return to the Knicks after flirting in free agency with Chicago and Houston, both of whom offered him better chances of winning right away. No one could offer him the fame and fortune that New York could, along with $124 million.
Anthony always knew he could have a lot of long nights before the Knicks added more talent via free agency in 2015 and ’16, but it’s not as if losing has ever killed ‘Melo, the way it does Kobe Bryant, for instance.
Did you see the tape of Bryant ripping into his Lakers teammates in practice on Thursday, calling them out for being “soft,’’ among other things? The next time Anthony does that in practice will be the first time.
It’s been only 22 games and although the Knicks are as bad as their 4-20 record indicates, Anthony is not ready to give up on being a Knick, because he sees it as his best way to becoming a “tastemaker,’’ in the words of his advisers.
When he signed his contract, with the highly sought-after, but rarely given no-trade clause that only a handful of NBA players including Bryant have, Anthony knew there was a chance that the Knicks could be terrible. He’s found out during the worst start in franchise history that there’s a big learning curve for his rookie coach, Derek Fisher, who this time last season was playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder. He’s found out that subtracting Tyson Chandler from the back line and adding Samuel Dalembert has made for one of the weaker defensive teams in the league.
He’s found out that he, along with J.R. Smith, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Iman Shumpert, no longer can look for their own shots first, something that comes naturally. Now, in the triangle offense, they first have to read and react to the defense and where their teammates are on the floor.
Jackson has already gone public with Anthony’s various shortcomings, which wasn’t exactly news since 'Melo has been in the league since 2003-4. Normally he doesn’t impact the game, except if he can score. He’s not a leader. He needs strong-willed veterans on the team to direct him, on and off the court. He's not Kobe or LeBron or other transcendent superstars, few as there are.
But he has the kind of power with his no-trade clause that will keep him a Knick for a long time.
Probably even longer than Jackson, truth be told.
Longtime New York columnist Mitch Lawrence continues to write about pro basketball, as he’s done for the last 21 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 @Mitch _ Lawrence.
