Carmelo-no

As of Tuesday, the Knicks have a 10-42 record. They got off to the worst start in franchise history earlier in the year. The team has sorely underachieved ever since winning two titles in the early seventies. Despite improvement a few years ago, the team is as bad as ever, and the owner is primarily to blame.

It was extremely puzzling when the Knicks signed Carmelo Anthony to a five-year deal for $124 million over the offseason. The max deal would have been worth $129 million. Not only did the Knicks give Anthony a max deal in essence, but it included an uncommon no trade clause. He is averaging 24.2 points per game, but only 3.1 assists. He does not make his teammates better, and the no trade clause means the team is stuck with him as long as he wants to be there. This is ridiculous, since Carmelo does not appear to be a foundational player. Once again, the Knicks shoot themselves in the foot by offering someone an unreasonable contract.

Owner James Dolan has built up a reputation for being far too meddlesome with the team for years now. Dolan has a pattern of overspending for a coach/GM, stepping on his toes, firing him, and then paying him copious amounts of money afterward. Phil Jackson signed a contract worth nearly $12 million a year. Jackson will get at least three years to turn the team around, but Dolan is still part of the decision making process to a degree. It cannot be proven, but I firmly believe Dolan made Jackson resign Carmelo. Jackson made a strong stance about Anthony making sacrifices when he first took over, but his tune changed rather abruptly. Jackson also wanted Steve Kerr to be his coach, but Dolan lowballed the offer. Derek Fisher has struggled, but neither he nor Jackson is the problem right now.

It was obvious at the end of last year that a transformation was necessary. Phil has made two rebuilding moves in trading Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton to Dallas, as well as sending J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to Cleveland. I cannot blame Phil for getting rid of those guys, since they all needed to leave New York to find new life. I am confused that Jackson could now extract a single first round pick in these trades, especially since he did not get one legitimate player back. Letting Carmelo walk would have went in line with the rebuild perfectly. Keeping him shows a lack of a real plan by everyone involved.

If it is true that Melo has been sitting out games so he can be healthy for the All-Star Game, then he is done being a real star in the league. WFAN’s Craig Carton has said all year that Melo would make sure he was healthy for the London and All-Star games, and then would shut it down after. We will see if this true pretty soon, but I almost expect it. All Anthony has talked about over the last year is his brand or being an ambassador for New York. He should be threatening his teammates because he is livid at how bad they are. He does not hold teammates or himself accountable the way an alleged superstar should.

James Dolan made headlines for the wrong reasons earlier in the week. He responded to an unsavory email, writing that the initiator is an alcoholic and should go root for the Nets. This circumstance would be bad at any time, but it is magnified by how awful the product is. It is shocking that Dolan would even acknowledge this email, showing that he is incapable of dealing with his current reality. There is no solution in sight if Dolan continues his intrusive ways. This upcoming offseason is critical for Phil Jackson, because the team will have a ton of cap space for the first time in awhile. It is a small positive that they signed ex D-Leaguers Langston Galloway and Lance Thomas for the rest of the year. The only way Jackson can assemble the roster he wants is if Dolan gives him 100% control. Even though that is happening theoretically, lets hope it does for real.