Is Carmelo Anthony Snubbing Phil Jackson By Skipping Triangle Offense Class?
Carmelo Anthony is at the center of yet another set of rumors claiming he’s on his way out of New York. The latest stunt that has some New York Knicks players up in arms is when Carmelo Anthony decided he didn’t need to attend a special training program being put on by Phil Jackson. Anthony and the rest of the team would have been treated to a seminar on the triangle offense by the man who made it famous. This particular training session was especially important because Jackson isn’t a coach anymore.
Anthony and the rest of the team would only be getting access to this triangle offense class once in a blue moon now that Jackson is in the team’s front office. When Carmelo Anthony decided not to make an appearance at this particular class, there were some people who started talking about the possibility that Anthony might finally be on his way out of New York. These kinds of rumors have been going on for the better part of three seasons, and so far, neither Anthony nor the team have taken the final steps needed in order to go their separate ways.
Ten other Knicks did go to the workshop, which threw more kindling on the smoldering fire, but Carmelo Anthony is now saying he doesn’t have any desire to move on.
“No, no, I don’t think about that. Not right now. I can’t think about that. My mindset is just figuring out how we’re going to better this situation, how we’re going to continue to grow as a team, grow as an organization and not get used to going home this early in April,” Anthony said according to Sportsrageous.
The good news is that it doesn’t appear as if the Knicks view Carmelo Anthony skipping the workouts as that big a snub. Others, however, clearly see this is another fight between the team and their star player. As the North Jersey Record points out, the comments coming from Phil Jackson about Carmelo Anthony after he skipped the workouts doesn’t sound like someone who had no problem with the absence.
Carmelo Anthony Skips Phil Jackson's Triangle Offense Seminarhttps://t.co/IKvqngzkhG pic.twitter.com/IY06UN4otq
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) April 23, 2016
Jackson has said he was brought to New York in order to build a system. The unspoken truth is that the only way the former NBA championship winning coach can build a winning system is if all the team’s players buy in. If all but Carmelo Anthony buy in, that’s still a major problem inside the franchise. The star player, despite claiming he wants to stay in New York, has made comments before saying he didn’t have any interest in ever hearing the word “triangle” again.
Jackson seems to have fired some direct shots at Anthony even before the star skipped the workouts. During one post season interview, the team president said he felt as though some of the team’s best games of the season were when its best player wasn’t on the floor. The comment drew the most raised eyebrows when he added the team might not have always won those games, but the Knicks still played better without the man who was supposed to lead the team back to the promised land.
The comment was even stranger considering the Knicks were 0-10 when Anthony wasn’t in the lineup. When one of the leading members of the team’s front office is making comments about how much better off the squad is while they’re losing every game, it makes it hard to believe the team isn’t ready to move on. Both sides might be saying nothing’s going on when it comes a split, but Carmelo Anthony skipping the triangle offense workshop could be the final straw.
[Photo by Kathy Willens/AP Images]
