A day after saying he hasn’t thought about waiving his no-trade clause, Carmelo Anthony said he remains loyal to the New York Knicks and doesn’t feel the need to prove that loyalty to anyone.
“I think I’ve proven that. I don’t have to speak on that. I think I’ve proven that over the years, day in and day out,” Anthony said after the Knicks’ 108-107 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Monday. “Regardless of what’s going on that’s surrounding this team, any talk, anything I’ve still showed that me being here, coming to work, being professional, got to answer your guys’ questions every day, got to deal with you all, I still remain positive about that. I don’t think I have to prove that to anybody.”
Anthony was asked about his loyalty to the organization Monday after he wondered a day earlier about the organization’s loyalty to him.
The issue arose Sunday after reporters in Toronto asked Anthony about his no-trade clause because Charley Rosen, a confidant of Knicks president Phil Jackson, wrote a column about the Knicks that included several critiques of the 32-year-old Anthony, including the conclusion that “Carmelo Anthony has outlived his usefulness in New York.”
Jackson plans to meet with his star in the next few days to discuss Anthony’s feelings toward the organization following the publication of the critical column, sources told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.
Neither Jackson nor general manager Steve Mills addressed the situation with Anthony on Monday, the star forward said. Anthony added that he didn’t feel it was necessary to have a conversation with management about the topic.
“My clarity is playing ball right now and getting some wins. If they want to come talk to me, I’m around them guys every day,” he said. “I don’t want this to be kind of going back and forth between me and the front office, management, because it’s really nothing, I responded to an article that I read. That was that. There’s nothing between myself and management at this point.”
The Knicks are in a free fall on the court, having lost 11 of their past 13 games after a one-point loss to the Hawks on Monday. New York has lost the first two games of a four-games-in-five-nights set. The club plays next in Boston on Wednesday night.
“We’re trying to stay positive around here, trying to gather the troops and still believe in one another,” Anthony said. “Guys want to win. At the end of the day, guys know that we’re all we have. We got to have each other’s back during this time.”
