Carmelo Anthony, Frank Ntilikina, Kristaps Porzingis… Phil Jackson settles scores

On Tuesday, November 4, Phil Jackson’s new book titled Masters of the game. In this piece written with the famous journalist Sam Smith, cformer Bulls and Lakers coach comments on the ranking of the 75 greatest players in history. One chapter is dedicated to Carmelo Anthony, and Phil Jackson takes the opportunity to deal with “Mel”, his superstar at the time in New York. According to him, Carmelo Anthony made him leave.

« Dolan m’a dit : “The media won’t run you out of town, will they?” I replied: “I know who the media is, it doesn’t affect me,” says Jackson. “But Dolan thought it was too much. He told me, “I don’t want you to go through that. I know what it’s like to deal with those people.” I replied: “Unfortunately, my relationship with Carmelo is a bit strained, and if he’s going to stay here, it’s probably best that I leave.”

As with the Bulls and Lakers, Jackson wanted to impose his triangle offense on the Knicks, with more movement on offense and ball circulation. Anthony, the isolation specialist, wouldn’t hear of it, and the two never stopped holding on to the point where the “Zen master” wanted to trade him.

Phil Jackson wanted to trade him

« I had a meeting with Dolan”continued Jackson, then the franchise president. “I told him, ‘I don’t want Carmelo back on the team; we have to find a way to trade him.’ We had to sit down with his agent, Leon Rose, and explain to him that we weren’t going to win the title. Carmelo wanted a title, he wanted to be on a team that had the means – and he deserves it, he’s a Hall of Famer. »

To make his point, Jackson also mentions a conversation with George Karl, who coached Mel with the Nuggets, and often vilified him after his departure. Before his transfer to the Knicks. Karl would share with him an exchange that occurred during the 2009 Western Conference Finals against the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant. « (Karl a Diet): “Kobe will put in his 30 points, we’ll handle it. The goal is to block the others.” And Carmelo answered: “No, I don’t agree. It’s all about Kobe.”Đorđe asked him why. And Carmelo answered: “Because I want to be the best scorer.” »

The Lakers, coached by Jackson, finally won the series in six games, before winning the title against the Dwight Howard Magic.

“After meeting Carmelo in New York, I realized,” also writes Jackson. “Understood” what? Ty Melo destroyed the emergence of Jeremy Lin and excerpt from Mike D’Antoni with the Knicks.

four years agoPhil Jackson explained that Melo cannot be a “franchise player”. “I think Carmelo wanted to be a leader, but I don’t think he fully knew how to be a leader as a player.”the “Zen Master” explained. “And I think his personality was intimidating to some of the coaches who were asked to coach the team. And so there wasn’t that consensus that needed to happen between the players and the coach. And as much as I tried to express my beliefs, I don’t think I was close enough to the ground for them to be really effective, in dictating how things should be done.”

The NBA behind its breakup with Jeanie Buss

Not re-examining himself, with the exception of the failed Derek Fisher hire, Jackson also returns his top two draft picks in New York, Kristaps Porzingis and Frank Ntilikina. For him, the Latvian was “Good choice, but his brother was always in the way. As for the French, “The NBA game wasn’t made for him. I thought he’d be good in a two-guard system. . . . He’s nimble, but he could never shoot.”

Ultimately, what he remembers most from his three years with the Knicks is the end of his romantic relationship with Lakers owner Jeanie Bass, and he suggests that the NBA contributed to this breakup. “I warned her: “I don’t think our relationship will survive this. I won’t take this job.”She replied, “Don’t worry, everything will be fine.” But it was under pressure from the league, which feared possible collusion between the other team’s owner and president. »