Jackson: Trade might be best for both Knicks and Anthony
“We have not been able to win with him on the court at this time and I think the direction with our team is that he is a player that would be better off somewhere else and using his talent somewhere he can win or chase that championship,” the team president of basketball operations said Friday.
Jackson stopped short of saying he wanted to trade his All-Star forward from Towson Catholic, but he certainly seems eager to explore a deal that would help the Knicks get younger and more athletic.
“Right now we need players that are really active, can play every single play, defensively and offensively,” Jackson said. “That’s really important for us.”
Jackson spoke to the local media Friday for the first time since September. The Knicks finished 31-51 in their fourth straight season missing the playoffs.
He met with Anthony a day earlier, a meeting he said was cordial. The 32-year-old veteran wants to play for a winning team, and Jackson explained that it might be time for Anthony to go looking for one elsewhere because the Knicks can’t provide it.
Jackson says he believes there’s been progress but signaled he will start another rebuilding of the team, a year after acquiring a number of veterans he hoped would join Anthony in becoming a playoff squad.
Moving Anthony will be difficult, given his age and the $54 million remaining on the five-year deal Jackson gave him in 2014. He also granted Anthony a no-trade clause in that contract, but he said he doesn’t regret it.
“He’s carried the basic load for this team. I thought he stood up well this year in a lot of tough situations,” Jackson said.
Jackson said he we would want back a “significant player” to replace Anthony, who remains the Knicks’ leading scorer, and was vague on whether he thought Anthony could return if there was no trade.
“That’s a long way down the road, but there’s very few options at that level,” Jackson said. “But there are options.”
PREVIOUS ARTICLE
