The talk around the New York Knicks right now is about who their next head coach will be. There are plenty of rumors out there about who they are considering and who team president Phil Jackson prefers, but the reality is we just don't know at this time.
While getting a head coach is important, the Knicks have a lot of work to do on their roster. New York has two solid foundational pieces moving forward in Kristaps Porzingis and Carmelo Anthony, but not much else after them. Heck, Anthony's future may also be a question mark considering he will be 32 years old next season and his window of opportunity is closing.
There has been a lot of talk about the potential of the Knicks trading Anthony throughout this season, and it actually makes sense for both sides. Anthony could go to a winning situation, which the Knicks clearly won't be for a while, while the Knicks could get a lot back for their star and go through a full rebuild. The problem is that Anthony has a full no-trade clause and the Knicks can't trade him unless he waives that clause, which he seems very reluctant to do.
Anthony re-upped on his reluctance to waive his no-trade clause earlier this week when he proclaimed he was focused on ways he can improve the Knicks rather than focusing on a way to leave the Knicks. There isn't much Anthony can do to try and improve the Knicks other than attempt to recruit free agents, but that may be a futile exercise considering the Knicks are not all that close to being a championship contender.
It does seem possible that Anthony could get frustrated enough with the situation in New York to OK a trade. Anthony has said he wants a say in who the Knicks choose as their next head coach, but it doesn't seem like Jackson is all that eager to accommodate that request. There has always been a sense around Anthony that he prefers the money and New York lifestyle over winning, but at some point the losing will wear on everyone. Anthony has said in the past that he wants to win more than anything but he wants to do it in New York.
Anthony's resistance to being traded likely won't stop the Knicks from looking at potential deals but, it can't happen unless he wants it to happen. For now it seems like Anthony will try to use his influence to improve the Knicks' roster going into next season, but if that fails for the second straight offseason it is fair to wonder if he will get any closer to wanting out of the Big Apple.
