With Derek Fisher officially out the door as the head coach, New York Knicks have another priority on their mind: Keeping Carmelo Anthony. The veteran forward made it clear, however, he has no intention of waiving his no-trade clause. The deadline to do so is Feb. 18, but barring a surprising change of heart, it looks like Melo is dedicated to staying in New York no matter what.
“Yeah, I’ve been through worse,” Anthony told Newsday’s Al Iannozzone. “I’ve been through worse. At this point you become kind of immune to all… that goes on and the politics. You become immune to that. So my goal is to continue playing basketball, focus on the group of guys that I have in there and leave that faith to management to the front office.”
To Anthony’s point, the Knicks are the poster children for coaching turnover in the NBA. Since he joined the organization in 2011, there have been four different coaches, including interim coach Kurt Rambis. That has to be frustrating for any player, let alone one of Melo’s status. His desire to stay in New York should be a sigh of relief for Knicks fans — he has three years left on his contract — but that instability remains a constant concern.
The Knicks believe they can do better than Fisher, and early reports indicate Golden State assistant Luke Walton would be a top target:
Given the job he did with Golden State, and relationship with Phil, Luke Walton will figure prominently in Knicks' long-term search.
— Ken Berger (@KBergNBA) February 8, 2016
Melo’s faith in the Knicks’ front office stems from president Phil Jackson, and he’s probably reason enough to want to stick around. If the Knicks think they can do better than Fisher, then they better do it. Otherwise, Melo might not be so patient next time.
(Via Newsday)
