Why yes, Carmelo Anthony and Phil Jackson are still making headlines.
Anthony got his long-awaited meeting with the New York Knicks president on Tuesday, and the returns weren’t great. ESPN.com’s Ramona Shelburne has the deets:
Phil Jackson met with Carmelo Anthony today and asked him if he wanted to remain with the Knicks, sources told ESPN.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) January 17, 2017
Melo has a no trade clause. So he'd need to waive that. No specific teams discussed. Everyone just processing now.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) January 17, 2017
One source described the meeting as far more contentious than previous sit downs between Jackson and Anthony.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) January 17, 2017
As for what Melo told Phil, source says he reaffirmed his desire to stay in New York with the Knicks.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) January 17, 2017
The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski confirmed Shelburne’s findings, though he painted a more civil exchange between the two sides:
Carmelo Anthony reaffirmed his desire to stay with Knicks in meeting with Phil Jackson today, league source tells @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 17, 2017
Melo/Jackson meeting was calm, business-like, a source told @TheVertical. Melo continues to have no interest in waiving his no-trade clause.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 17, 2017
If Melo doesn’t want to ditch his no-trade clause, all speculation is moot. The only teams you can see him really wanting to join are the Los Angeles Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers, and neither of them are putting together a package that makes it worthwhile for the Knicks to trade Melo.
As for what this means with regards to Jackson and Anthony’s relationship, we don’t know. Things between the two don’t appear to be going swimmingly, and unless one or both of them publicly offers support for the other, perception isn’t going change.
