GOODBYE MELO BRICK ROAD?
Carmelo likely to stay on bench in what could be Knicks swan song
There likely will be no sentimental Garden salute for Carmelo Anthony in the Knicks season finale Wednesday against the Sixers. Anthony is probably done for the season and very well could be done for his Knicks career.
Coach Jeff Hornacek said Anthony is expected to rest against the Sixers as the Knicks (3051) f inish up their dreadful season. However, the Knicks listed Anthony as questionable, giving him wiggle room to change his mind.
If he doesn’t play, Anthony will have sat out the final three games and seven of the last 11. His final Knicks game may turn out to be Thursday’s loss to the Wizards. His last shot could be a symbol of his sixyear stint: Anthony bricked a potential game-tying 3-pointer in the final seconds.
Anthony declined to make himself available to the media Tuesday after the season’s final practice, in which he scrimmaged on his allegedly sore left knee.
Hornacek’s parting comments regarding Anthony were lukewarm, making references to defensive and leadership shortcomings and his vision of a more youthful 2017-18 team.
Anthony has a no-trade clause, but has given strong hints he would waive it if team president Phil Jackson can find a trade to the right spot this summer after four straight seasons out of the playoffs. A detached Anthony has said twice in recent weeks he sees “the writing on the wall’’ — an indication he realizes the club wants to get younger.
According to a source, Jackson is hoping Anthony is open-minded in terms of his destinations. The Knicks spoke to the Clippers, Cavaliers and Celtics in the weeks leading up to the trade deadline, but nothing made sense for the Knicks or came close to fruition. The Clippers, with more than half their roster potentially hitting the free agency, may be breaking up their team if they suffer an early-round playoff loss.
Hornacek said he will be in on the exit meeting this week with Anthony, Jackson and GM Steve Mills. The Knicks’ 32-year-old star has said “the chips will be on the table” during the meeting.
“I’m sure a lot of things will be discussed,’’ Hornacek said. “I can’t predict what will happen in that meeting. We’ll t al k about the season, going forward what’s going to happen.’’
Asked directly if he wa nt e d Anthony back, Hornacek put the ball in his player’s court.
“I think it’s all his choice still with his contract,’’ Hornacek said. “Every year, until guys are gone, coaches we all assume we’ll have the same team. When something changes, we deal with it.’’
However, Hornacek gave a hint he thinks Anthony could slow the growth of 21-year-old Kristaps Porzingis, whom the Knicks view as their new franchise player. Hornacek was asked about the notion of Anthony perhaps not fitting into a potential Knicks youth movement.
“It would be beneficial for a veteran guy with young players for the leadership, the knowledge of the game. It could be a positive,” Hornacek said. “It’s a negative if the young guys rely on the veterans to do everything and they don’t move forward. That’s the bad part of it.”
An thony , appearing to lose a step this season, did not play well defensively and shot just 43.3 percent. He finishes the season with modest numbers: 22. 5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists. His distaste for the triangle offense is evident as he refuses to use the T-word, and his feud with Jackson was a distraction for him. “He played more games than I anticipated,’’ Hornacek sai d. “Knowing he was getting older with his knee, until we were out of the playoffs [race], he missed one game maybe. He did a lot of good things. Obviously he can score the ball and put it in the hole, a guy along with Derrick [Rose] you can go to late. They came through sometimes.” Sometimes? “It was what we expected,’’ Hornacek said of Anthony’s season. “He was in the right spots a lot of times [defensively]. As you get older, he’s got good reactions, [but] getting back out to somebody, our whole team struggled with that this year. We didn’t close out hard enough on a lot of guys.” Hornacek suggested Anthony has to become a better leader if somehow a divorce can’t be hammered out. Hornacek said Anthony’s leadership was “good at times.’’ “Guys looked at him as a veteran player in his own way,” Hornacek said. “I’ve been around other veteran guys that will really scream and yell at guys. He’s not that wa y. He’s more of trying to talk to him and lend his knowledge that way. “However it shakes out, if he’s back in that ve te ra n leadership role, he’s really got to take it and help the guys out. We’ll have a lot of young guys out there.’’