If Phil Jackson had been direct with Carmelo Anthony and his people, come to them back in January and said, “we want to go another direction, and we want to help you find a trade destination that works for both of us” this whole thing could have been avoided. Instead, Jackson played mind games trying to get Anthony to waive his no-trade clause, and Anthony dug in his heels. So Anthony is still in NYC, and the wheels have come off the team.
Could there have been a deadline trade with the Clippers, a destination Anthony would reportedly accept? He suggested so in a conversation with Marc Berman of the New York Post.“Nah, don’t start,’’ Anthony said when asked if he envisions making L.A. his workplace. “I haven’t thought about it. There was an opportunity during the deadline. There was always talk the last couple of seasons being connected to Clippers or Lakers. Somehow always been connected. First it was the Lakers. Now it’s the Clippers situation. I try not to think about it — especially now when I’m still playing with the New York Knicks and got to prepare to play against these guys.’’
There are 13 games left before Anthony’s critical exit meeting with Knicks president Phil Jackson. According to a source, Jackson hopes Anthony is at least open to seeing if the Knicks can find an agreeable trade in the summer.
There are two things here.
The big one is about the potential of Jackson asking Anthony if he is open to a trade this summer. That has been kind of expected, and Anthony sounds like a guy ready to move on, but Jackson needs to go through the process and work with ‘Melo and his team on this. I expect we will see Anthony moved this summer.
Maybe to the Clippers, which brings me to the second thing out of Anthony’s comments. At the deadline the Clippers were making a lowball offer — no Chris Paul, no Blake Griffin, and not even J.J. Redick were part of a trade. It was Jamal Crawford (at age 37), Austin Rivers, and whatever else is left at the end of the Clippers roster (they don’t have a first-round pick they can trade for three years). Jackson should never have taken that offer.
The Clippers very likely will have a lot of questions to answer this summer, especially after they get bounced in the first round (by the Jazz, that is a toss up series) or the second round by the Warriors. Paul, Griffin, and Redick are all free agents, how much is owner Steve Ballmer willing to pay to bring them all back? Should they bring them all back? Should Doc Rivers give up his GM role and focus on coaching? There is a lot of soul searching for the Clippers to do, and where Anthony does or does not fit into all of that is a separate topic.