Welcome to this edition of Random Sound Bite of the NBA Offseason, featuring rapper Fat Joe, Carmelo Anthony and New York Knicks-related pipe dreams.
This is a real sentence, that I actually typed, without the slightest hint of irony.
Fat Joe went on ESPN’s First Take, because obviously, and relayed an interaction he had with Anthony over the summer. Here’s the transcription via Daily Knicks:
“In all the years [I’ve known] Carmelo Anthony since he’s been in high school, and I hope he doesn’t beat me up, I’ve never once in my life received a phone call. I got a phone call from Carmelo Anthony. He said, ‘If there’s any year in your life to be a New York Knicks fan, it’s this one. And go hard.’ And I said, ‘Melo, what are you saying?’ He called me from Brazil. And he said, ‘I promise you, this is going to be an incredible year for the Knicks.’”
To be honest, I had no idea Fat Joe and Melo were this tight, or that they’ve even met. Life-changing information, this is.
As for Anthony’s proclamation/promise, it isn’t especially surprising. He of all people has to love the way the Knicks look on paper. They might be built to contend for a title in 2011, not 2017, but names like Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah and Brandon Jennings still garner attention and optimism, most of it outdated.
The success or failure of this Knicks roster still hinges on a number of questions being answered in the team’s favor: Will Rose stay healthy? If he does, will he finish better around the rim? Will he find his jumper? Will he be more of a pass-first point guard? Can Noah stay healthy? Will Anthony himself stay healthy? Can Jennings effectively work his way back from an Achilles injury? Will the Knicks ever play defense? And, most importantly, will Kristaps Porzingis make his expected sophomore leap while playing beside this bizarre mixture of veterans?
This is all very overwhelming, and it diminishes the likelihood that the Knicks have an incredible year.
Though, to be fair to Melo, he never defined what he meant by “incredible” during his chat with Fat Joe. Maybe off-court drama with a side of on-court unevenness mixed with a likely fiery rumor mill ranks as “incredible” in his book.
