Welcome to the soap opera called the New York Knicks!
Since their last NBA Finals appearance in 1999, the Knicks have gone through many trials and tribulations. Half of these trials and tribulations stem from their incompetent owner, better known as the worst owner in the NBA, James Dolan, and the other half stems from incompetent front office personnel.
This season, James Dolan and Phil Jackson, President of Basketball Operations, share the blame for the soap opera that has taken place within the Knicks organization.
If you haven’t heard already, there is currently a power struggle going on between Phil Jackson, and the Knicks lone superstar, Carmelo Anthony. In a typical struggle for power between the front office and the superstar, usually the superstar is traded to another team for valuable pieces because more likely than not, the superstar won’t be re-signing with the team. Unfortunately, for the Knicks, the situation between Jackson and Anthony isn’t that simple. Anthony is an aging superstar who loves to play in New York, but Jackson wants to shift the direction of the team without Anthony. To aid in this shift of direction, Jackson would love to trade Anthony, but he can’t due to one reason.
The no-trade clause that Anthony has in his possession — all thanks to Jackson!
With the no-trade clause, Anthony can use his superstar muscle to be the bully in the schoolyard. He has all the cards in the deck, which is great for him, but he hasn’t been utilizing his wild card to its full potential. Instead, he has sat back and allowed Jackson to drag his name through the mud to the media. Anthony has “stayed Melo” throughout this power struggle, but why hasn’t he flexed his superstar muscle to try to run Jackson out of town?
Anthony can be a bully on the court, but he’s acting softer than Charmin right now — which is a surprise because he used strong arm tactics to run coach Mike D’Antoni out of town, back in 2012, according to the New York Post.
Reportedly, Anthony is about that ultimatum setting life. If reports are true, why hasn’t Anthony used this strong arm tactic against Jackson? Even though Dolan is an incompetent owner, he likes Anthony. According to Stephen A. Smith, Dolan promised Anthony that he could turn him into a billionaire — which is part of the reason why Anthony is reluctant to leave New York. Clearly, Anthony has some pull in this situation, and if he can play his cards right, he can possibly end up with a royal flush. In other words, Jackson will be back in Los Angeles, sipping pina coladas by the pool.
Anthony should not waive his no-trade clause and approach Dolan to set the ultimatum of all ultimatums — either Jackson goes or I go.
It’s that simple.
Either way, Anthony can’t lose. If Dolan decides to fire Jackson, Anthony gets his wish of staying in New York, and even though it’s a pipe dream, there’s a possibility Dolan may actually hire a competent President of Basketball Operations to help get rid of the negative vibe that surrounds the Knicks. If Dolan decides to keep Jackson, Anthony can simply waive his no-trade clause, choose the team he wants to be traded to, and laugh in the face of the Knicks organization when he gets traded for, little to, nothing because Jackson has devalued Anthony with the poor comments he has made to the media.
It’s about time Anthony lets Jackson know who’s the big man on campus.
Ryan G. is also featured on iSportsWeb. Check out the original post here.
