New York Knicks: Forget Carmelo Anthony, can the team trade Phil Jackson instead?
The New York Knicks are in a battle for power. But, owner James Dolan is scared to make a decision so he’s letting his two kids fight it out in the media. Phil Jackson wants Carmelo Anthony gone and Anthony feels as if this is his teams and he doesn’t have to leave. I have to side with Anthony on this one.
Lets’s throw the records out the window and focus on the issue at hand. If Jackson and the New York Knicks feel as if Melo is not the winner they need right now they should pull him to the side and let him know to his face. See, Jackson has these rings and people tend to kiss them when he’s in their presence and that has inflated his ego quite a bit. This is not his first time doing this. He tried it after Michael Jordan retired and Scottie Pippen went bonkers with a chair. He tried it with the Los Angeles Lakers during the Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal saga and now he’s doing it again with Melo.
[Mark]But, the difference is Melo is not Pippen or Kobe. He’s not budging and he shouldn’t have to.
Anthony has a no-trade clause in his contract and that has to be tearing Jackson up on the insides because he as no control over the situation. So, instead of talking it out like men, Jackson is trying that Zen Master crap and throwing his team’s leader under the bus with direct and in-direct shots any chance he can get.
Bleacher's Ding almost rings the bell, but I learned you don't change the spot on a leopard with Michael Graham in my CBA daze.
— Phil Jackson (@PhilJackson11) February 7, 2017
That reference is made to an old teammate Jackson had who had a disagreement with him and later Graham was booted off the team. Jackson is back to his old ways dropping clues and that’s just plain childish. But, if that wasn’t enough Jackson’s media friend and inside source went on to write:
Anthony had “outlived his usefulness’’ in New York.
But, maybe it’s not Anthony that has outlived his usefulness in NY at all. Maybe it’s Jackson that the Knicks should consider trading for Kevin Love or whoever the top target is this week. Jackson came in and cleared some cap space for the team, made a great choice in drafting Kristaps Porzingis but his offseason moves in Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah have failed. Instead of admitting that he has taken the low road and trying to force the Knicks franchise player out-of-town.
This will end with someone being out of a job. Eventually, Nolan will have to step in and make a decision as to who stays and who goes. Anthony has the leverage here and Phil doesn’t. Phil has the rings and Anthony doesn’t. What’s more important? The Knicks are falling fast in the standings and while the occasional scoreboard watcher can easily point the finger at Carmelo, Jackson is in the owner’s booth or the stands smiling thinking he’s untouchable.
But, what Jackson doesn’t realize is that it’s more than Anthony’s legacy on the line here. Teams are looking at Jackson and seeing that he has not changed. He has yet to take full responsibility for anything that has gone wrong but quick to take the praise when it goes right. Those 12 rings buys him a little breathing room but the air is running out on his stay in NYC. It’s not Anthony’s fault, just ask Pippen, Kobe, and Shaq or read one of his books.
He’s the same ole Jackson, just this time he ran into a player that’s not falling for that Zen Master nonsense and he’s pissed.
Mark has been covering Sports and Entertainment for the past six years. His work has been featured on Bleacher Report, ESPN, Fox Sports, Teen Vogue, and many other websites.
