Carmelo Anthony said all the right things at Knicks media day Monday. He’s still with the program, still backing Phil Jackson and still happy to be here in New York.
He’t got a no-trade clause, meaning it’s Anthony who is calling the shots at the Garden and not the $60-million team president who has made it known that he will be more involved with helping Derek Fisher coach the team.
It’s always a soap opera in the Garden, where the losing never ends. Now it’s a soap opera on two fronts. Anthony always makes headlines because he’s the King of New York, until he decides he’s had enough of it and waives his no-trade clause. Until he wants to go chase a championship elsewhere, he’s here to stay. So don’t believe the rumors that the Knicks are looking to move him. He’ll tell them when he’s ready to go and they’re powerless to move him before we reach that point.
Then there’s Jackson, who is going to take more of a hands-on role with the coaching this season. It’s a positive because Jackson did make his mark as a coach, winning a record 11 titles.
It just seems odd that he’d decide to make his presence known now and not last season, when Fisher came directly out of the playing ranks and obviously struggled in his new profession. Fisher won the fewest amount of games of any coach in Knicks history -- 17 -- and Jackson still thought he did a “terrific job,’’ going so far as to tell ESPN.com near season’s end that Fisher is “going to be an outstanding coach for us.’"
But for some reason, Jackson has decided that he needs to “be around and coaching basketball and influential in observations.’’
You have to ask, what’s the end game for Phil? Taking over if Fisher struggles to gain the respect of his players or can’t cut it with a better roster? Without Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant to win games? That doesn’t seem the Zen Master way, but stay tuned.
Anthony is a much easier read at this point. He wants to win after two straight lottery seasons. There's not a lot surrounding one of the NBA's top scorers, but he’s content for now seeing what Jackson brought him in free agency.
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“I was very excited about what we did this offseason. I liked the moves that we made,” Anthony told reporters over the weekend. “Was it any of the stars that we wanted to go after and go get? No. But the pieces that we got, I’m really intrigued.”
That means he’s willing to see what Robin Lopez, Arron Afflalo, Derrick Williams and Kyle O’Quinn can do. Don’t hold your breath. All free-agent signees, the four new Knicks were allowed to leave their previous teams, with none getting a serious counter-offer.
That’s not a very good sign for four players who cost Garden chairman Jim Dolan nearly $100 million, but there you are.
Jackson’s signature signing remains Anthony, who insists he’ll be gunning the playoffs and knows all the while that the Knicks will be bringing their No. 1 pick, Kristaps Porzingis, along very slowly. Only 20 and lacking an NBA body after playing a few seasons in Europe, it could be a few seasons before the 7 foot 1 inch-tall Porzingis makes a contribution. By then, who knows where Anthony will be.
“Even though you guys might not write about it, I think Phil still believes in me,” Anthony said. “And that goes without even being said because I’m still here. For him to start this process with me, being the centerpiece of this, I respect, that and I don’t want to let him down because I know that him putting me at the centerpiece of this is very big. I know what we’re about to start, what we’re about to create and I’m excited about that.”
Anthony should be excited. He’s over his knee injury that KO’d him after last February’s All-Star break. He’s still the team’s only star. He’s still in New York, where he’s always wanted to be. While Dolan still signs the paychecks, Anthony is still very much in charge.
Longtime New York columnist Mitch Lawrence continues to write about pro basketball, as he’s done for the last 23 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
