Despite all of the turmoil surrounding the New York Knicks with another coach in Derek Fisher being fired and another season increasingly looking like a lost one, Carmelo Anthony insists he’s going to stick it out at the Garden and not seek a trade away from New York according to ESPN’s Ian Begley.
“This is something I didn’t see coming, [that] nobody saw coming,” Anthony said. “So you have to continue to put your trust into Phil. At this point, what could you do? Can’t shy away from that. Can’t go against it. So for me, it’s continue. I have to trust in it. I decided to stay here. I decided to make that decision to trust in the Knicks and trust in Phil. I have to continue doing that.”
Kurt Rambis, who took over for Fisher on Monday, is the fourth different coach for Anthony in New York in his six seasons with the Knicks. He has three years left on his current contract, which includes a no-trade clause. New York hasn’t made the playoffs since the 2012-13 season, when they were bumped by the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
“Yeah, I mean, I done been through worse. I done been through worse,” Anthony added. “At this point, you become kind of immune to all the B.S. that goes on and the politics. You become immune to that. So my goal is to continue playing basketball, focus on the group of guys that I have in there and leave that faith to management, to the front office.”
Though Carmelo was “surprised” that Fisher was fired, he said that he had “respected” Fisher for taking on the challenge of becoming a head coach immediately after retiring as a player, especially with the Knicks. Anthony also added that he has become “immune” to the rumor mongering and speculation that comes with front office turmoil in the NBA.
One key area in which new coach Kurt Rambis differs from Fisher is that he has set the Knicks’ expectations at making the playoffs. They have lost 10 of their last 11 games, including Rambis’ debut against the Wizards on Tuesday night, which leaves them five games behind Detroit for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
[ESPN]
