Carmelo: 'Chips Will Be On The Table' In Exit Interview With Jackson
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Carmelo Anthony is ready to unload on Phil Jackson.
The Knicks star told reporters Monday that "the chips will be on the table" in his season-ending interview with the team president.
The Melo era in New York could be drawing to a close. Jackson tried to trade the 10-time All-Star guard this season, but couldn't find a deal that worked for all parties, with Anthony's no-trade clause proving to a road block.
The Knicks are expected to revisit trade talks this summer. Jackson seems eager to move forward with a new plan, one that leans heavily on younger players and the triangle offense. The 32-year-old Anthony, who has said he wants to win a championship before he retires, doesn't seem to match the Knicks' time frame any longer.
"I see the writing on the wall," Anthony said. "You don't know what the writing is on the wall, though, but I see it."
Anthony added that he hopes to play six more seasons, but said basketball "hasn't been as fun as I would've wanted it to be" lately.
He has repeatedly said he hopes to remain a Knick, but his tone seems to be changing. Anthony has indicated he'd be willing to waive his no-trade clause for the right opportunity.
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Earlier this year, the Cavaliers, Celtics and Clippers showed some level of interest in trading for Anthony, who has two years, $54 million remaining on his contract, as well as a $4 million trade kicker.
The relationship between Jackson and Anthony soured this season.
• In February, Jackson seemed to endorse, in a tweet, a Bleacher Report column that said Anthony lacks the drive to win a championship, although the Knicks president later said his post was misinterpreted.
• Anthony sided with friend LeBron James after Jackson, in an ESPN interview in November, called James' entourage "a posse." "I would never want to hear that word about me and my — I don't want to say crew — but people that I consider family or people that I come up (with), been through thick and thin with," Anthony said.
• In December on the CBS Sports Network's "We Need to Talk," Jackson criticized Anthony for holding the ball too long. Anthony responded with a pair of Instagram posts. In the first, he wrote: "EGO is the only requirement to destroy any relationship. So, be a BiGGER person, skip the 'E' and let it 'GO.'" The second post included a photo of Muhammad Ali surrounded by arrows, with Anthony writing, "UN-Phased (MyLifeSummedUpInOnePhoto)."
• And in January, FanRag Sports' Charley Rosen, Jackson's biographer and confidant, wrote a column saying Anthony had outlived his usefulness in New York. Some observers believed that opinion might have been conveyed to Rosen by Jackson, although the writer denied that he had spoken to the Knicks president before publishing the piece. Jackson, however, did little to reassure Anthony he was still wanted in the organization.
This season, Anthony is averaging 22.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.
The Knicks (29-48) have five games remaining in their season.
