Carmelo Anthony’s tenure with the New York Knicks didn’t end the way everybody expected. He led the team to playoff contention but couldn’t make it to the Finals, but more than that, he left out the back door because of his feud with Phil Jackson.
Jackson is one of the most respected figures in the NBA. He coached two dynasties in the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, and James Dolan hoped he could work his magic with the Knicks as well.
But Jackson’s time at Madison Square Garden was quite tumultuous, and his poor relationship with Anthony was one of the main reasons why.
Phil threw Carmelo under the bus more often than not and Melo’s ego also got in the way from time to time. But looking back to those months, Anthony still blames Jackson for how things went:
“When Phil came, he was just like, he cut that line of communication off me from the Front Office, from the staff members, even players! You know what I’m saying?” Anthony said on All The Smoke. “The minute that I knew that was the game that was being played, like Nah!”
Anthony was later asked whether he had a sit-down with Jackson to give him a piece of his mind and get some closure but up to this day, he’s not interested in any of that:
“Nah! I mean, I don’t need closure. You understand there’s no… I stood tall to him during my time. It is what it is. You feel the way that you feel about me. You say what you gotta say about me. I know if I had a sit-down with you, you wouldn’t say that. You would say something totally different. You’re gonna tell me something like oh it wasn’t like that. I ain’t really got time for that. I don’t need it at this point,” Anthony concluded.
Carmelo Anthony deserved better. He should’ve had a proper farewell, even if he wasn’t able to lead the team to a ring. But that’s just the way things go in this business.
