This is not a happy story, and not entirely a basketball story. The breakup of any marriage, especially when children are involved, is serious, personal, and the parties involved deserve some space to work through it. However, there are basketball overtones, so here we are.
Carmelo Anthony and his wife La La have separated, according to TMZ.Sources close to the couple tell us the actress and NBA superstar are now living separately. La La moved out of the family home last week and has her own place in NYC now.
We’re told the couple’s had ups and downs in the past, but the current NBA season has been extremely stressful on the marriage for several months. Carmelo’s been plagued by trade talks ... with the Knicks looking to move him to another team.
Our sources say the split is still amicable. They were together just this past weekend at their 10-year-old son Kiyan’s basketball game.
Hopefully ‘Melo and La La can work out something that is best for them and everyone involved.
But there are two basketball topics we will note here:
First, the stress of this season — the losing, the trade rumors, Phil Jackson and ‘Melo’s rather public disagreements — undoubtedly led to a toll on Anthony personally. We’ve all had the stress from one aspect of our lives bleed over to another, and that can be something hard for those around us to understand.
Second, part of Anthony’s desire to stay with the Knicks was to be close to his family and wife, who is an actress and performer (which is a good reason to be in New York). Does this change things? Anthony is not going to just waive his no-trade clause so Jackson can trade him to Orlando or Phoenix for a package of picks/young players. However, he might be more open to a deal now not tied to New York. Or, maybe he doesn’t want to be far from his children now. There are no easy answers here, on any level.
For the sake of their family, I hope Anthony and La La can make this work.