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Carmelo Anthony vs. Phil Jackson Feud Strengthens: ‘[He’d] be better off somewhere else.’
Another day, another Phil Jackson comment against New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony.
Jackson—New York’s President of Basketball Operations—confirmed Friday that the team will try to move Anthony this summer.
“We’ve not been able to win with him on the court at this time,” Jackson said Friday, speaking at a news conference after conducting exit interviews with the players. “I think the direction with our team is that he is a player that would be better off somewhere else and using his talents somewhere he can win, or chase that championship.”
Jackson’s main goal is to trade away Carmelo Anthony. Two years remaining on his five-year contract which he signed in 2014, it’s almost guaranteed Anthony won’t wait to become a free-agent. Trading away Anthony may be tricky, though. Anthony, 32, has a no-trade clause in his contract meaning he can choose whether he leaves New York and where he would like to go.
After Jackson’s comments were heard by Anthony, he tweeted a photo of Leonardo DiCaprio with the caption “REALLY,” along with laughing emojis and his #StayMe7o hashtag.
REALLY 😂😂#StayMe7o pic.twitter.com/Y9Vky2zgLh
— Carmelo Anthony (@carmeloanthony) April 14, 2017
The 2017 offseason will be extremely interesting. Jackson has a top-10 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft and $20 million in cap space to work with. Getting rid of Carmelo Anthony and building around Kristaps Porzingis may be Jackson’s goal.
All in all, the way Phil Jackson has been treating Carmelo Anthony—a man that did all he could to save the franchise, and who fans fell in love with—is not right, and could be handled in a more professional matter.
