Jim Boeheim’s latest verbal foray into Carmelo Anthony’s free-agency decision is going to make Phil Jackson blush.
The Syracuse head coach was exceedingly vocal leading up to Anthony’s free agency and recurrently admitted he wanted the All-Star forward to sign somewhere he could win. But Anthony signed in New York, where he’s not going to win. At least not right away.
The Knicks aren’t built to actualize such pipe dreams just yet. And while some people look to the money, or perhaps the Bulls’ lowball offer, as the driving force behind Melo’s thought process, Boeheim thinks Jackson won him over, per ESPN New York’s Ian Begley:
Boeheim also said that Anthony probably would have left New York if Phil Jackson hadn’t taken over as president of the team.
“I would think so. He stayed because he believes Phil,” Boeheim said. “Derek Fisher, he knows the game. If you’re going to pick a coach who hasn’t coached, he would be the guy I would pick. I think he’s a great choice. I talked to Derek a little bit. I think he’s really smart. I think he’ll be a really good coach. I think they’ll show significant improvement this year. If they get a couple of guys down the road, I think they’ll be good.”
Well that’s certainly reasonable.
Anthony is on the record repeatedly touting Jackson’s hire, and it’s not a stretch to believe that the Master of Zen appealed to Anthony’s loyal side, nor should we rule out the two of them having rolled up some of the Knicks president’s finest peyote in the back of a tie-dye-tinged, curtain-clad, sunlight-smothering V-Dub Bus. Bonds are forged on day trips to the beach parking lot that end in similar fashion. Just saying.
Truth told, we don’t know what Anthony’s decision actually came down to. Most likely a vast number of things, from money and convenience, to family and Melo’s infatuation with Jackson’s mystique.
Lack of other options could be one, too. And it’s an undersold virtue here, yet it’s not like Anthony could sign anywhere that guaranteed him championship prominence. There was no 2010 Heat coup to be had.
Even Boeheim said the Bulls were a better option from a basketball standpoint, according to Begley. And that may be true. But Anthony doesn’t know that. Derrick Rose and Pau Gasol—and even Joakim Noah—have all battled their fair shares of injuries. There’s no ironclad promise that Anthony’s arrival would have made the Bulls a healthy juggernaut or any more of an Eastern Conference favorite.
As for teams like the Rockets, that would have been in intriguing if they kept Chandler Parsons, though they never appeared to be a legitimate option—possibly because of how bad their defense would have been. The Mavericks were never going to happen, and neither were the Lakers. If Anthony genuinely considered them, he would see that his chances to win with them in the top- and bottom-heavy Western Conference weren’t amazing. File that under “Why he didn’t sign with the Rockets,” too. And under “Why Anthony didn’t sign in the Western Conference. Period.”
Instead of journeying far west or to Chicago, Anthony picked New York. The Knicks were slinging more money, and while that matters, Anthony essentially chose one form of uncertainty over strings of others.
Possibly because of P-Jax.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com.
