Carmelo Anthony To Meet With Phil Jackson

After hinting on Sunday that a meeting with the Knicks’ brass might be useful, Carmelo Anthony will get that meeting this week, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. Sources tell Shelburne that Knicks president Phil Jackson intends to meet with Anthony within the next few days to discuss the forward’s feelings toward the organization.

This week’s drama in New York stemmed from a column by Charley Rosen of FanRag. Rosen, a longtime Jackson confidant, was extremely critical of Anthony, writing that the forward’s legs are “going, going, almost gone,” and adding that the nine-time All-Star has “outlived his usefulness” in New York. While Rosen clarified that those were his views alone, and didn’t come from Jackson, the close relationship between the two created some uncertainty for Anthony, necessitating a meeting.

Anthony has indicated that he hasn’t thought at all about waiving his no-trade clause to go to another team, telling reporters on Monday that he wants to remain with the Knicks. So, unless Jackson has other ideas, the two sides will likely make an effort to mend fences during this week’s meeting.

Here are a few more notes out of New York:

  • Although Jackson will speak to Anthony in the wake of Rosen’s column, head coach Jeff Hornacek said on Monday that he doesn’t feel the need to talk to his forward about it, per Al Iannazzone of Newsday (Twitter link).
  • Speaking of Hornacek, he made some interesting changes to the Knicks’ starting lineup on Monday, including plugging Ron Baker in at shooting guard in place of Courtney Lee. Lee, who signed a lucrative four-year deal with the Knicks in the offseason, posted pictures from the movie Dumb and Dumber on his Instagram account shortly after being benched, as Fred Kerber of The New York Post details. Lee quickly deleted those posts and explained in a subsequent message that he didn’t intend to criticize the coaches, the rotation, or the lineup change.
  • While Lee backed off his apparent criticism, Brandon Jennings didn’t hold back after Monday’s game, per Marc Berman of The New York Post. Asked about the lineup change, Jennings said that players “don’t know what’s going to happen” with the rotation when they show up for a given game. “Every day is something new,” Jennings said. “There’s kind of no consistency. It’s tough.”
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