Carmelo Anthony Admits Jackson Comments Prompted Instagram Posts
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Carmelo Anthony acknowledged Friday that a pair of cryptic posts he made on Instagram a day earlier were indeed in response to critical remarks made by Knicks president Phil Jackson.
In an interview Wednesday on CBS Sports Network's "We Need to Talk," Jackson was asked about how Anthony fits into the triangle offense. Jackson said Anthony can fill the Michael Jackson or Kobe Bryant role in the system, but added that he tends to hold onto the ball too long.
"We have a rule: If you hold the pass two seconds, you benefit the defense," Jackson said. "So he has a little bit of a tendency to hold it to three, four, five seconds, then everybody comes to a stop, and that is one of the things we work with. But he's adjusted to it. He knows what he can do, and he's willing to see its success."
On Thursday, Anthony posted two messages on Facebook. 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)."
Anthony told reporters in Sacramento, where the Knicks will face the Kings on Friday night, that he has not spoken to Jackson and questioned the timing of his comments, which were made while the Knicks were riding a four-game winning streak.
"At the end of the day we're playing good basketball," Anthony said, according to the New York Daily News. "That's the only thing that matters at this point. So any negativity that's coming towards me or towards the team, I don't think we need it at this point.
"If he wants to talk about it, cool. If he don't, cool," Anthony added. "In my eyes, it's over."
