For the Knicks, most of the last year has been dealing with rumors about the futures of their two star players: Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis. The latter was recently thrown around in trade discussions leading up to the NBA Draft, but ultimately nothing happened on the Porzingis trade front. That saga, at least for now, appears to be over.
However, the Cold War between Phil Jackson and Carmelo Anthony, long the face of the Knicks franchise, continues on. During his recent MSG Network interview in which he admitted to considering Porzingis trade options, he also continued his year-long efforts to push Anthony out of New York, as well, noting again that Anthony might be better off somewhere else.
Anthony has a no-trade clause that makes it impossible for the Knicks to move him without his permission, and to this point he’s been unwilling to waive that, even though Jackson has attacked him repeatedly in the media in an effort to push him out. There has been speculation recently that rather than a trade, the Knicks might just try to convince Anthony to take a buyout and hit the free agent market so he can choose where to sign — with the Cavaliers and his buddy LeBron as the reported top destination.
However, there remains one big snag in all the plans to move Anthony out of New York. Anthony’s wife, La La, and his son, Kiyan, are in New York and, despite rumored issues between Melo and La La, they remain together and she has no plans on leaving the city. La La went on the Wendy Williams Show on Tuesday morning and explained why, despite all the rumors, Carmelo still isn’t likely to look for a buyout or trade out of New York any time soon (transcription via Pro Basketball Talk).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LynjN_rtaLg
“Every day, I see a different team,” La La said. “That’s for sure. The most important thing with just that is to stay close to Kiyan. That’s my priority. That’s his priority. So, wherever he ends up, of course we want him to be happy.
“I am hood, and I want to stay close to the hood. So, New York is definitely where I’m at and where I’m staying.”
La La also noted that she and Melo are still “best of friends” and that he’s a great dad while shrugging off the idea that she would consider divorcing him. If La La and Kiyan aren’t going anywhere, then it’s hard to imagine Melo actively choosing to go elsewhere. He’s established before that family is the most important thing to him right now and is one of the reasons he doesn’t want to leave New York.
Now, with La La confirming that she has no plans to leave, it would seem to put a damper on reports of a banana boat crew reunion in either Cleveland or Los Angeles.
L.A. was long seen as a possible destination for Anthony based off speculation that La La would approve a move there, but she seems to be pretty firm in her commitment to living in New York. Her statement certainly doesn’t rule out a move out of New York for Carmelo, noting “wherever he ends up” they want him to be happy, but for those assuming it’s only a matter of time before Anthony cuts bait with the Knicks, this would seem to put the brakes on that kind of assured speculation.
