New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony is doing what he can to remain positive during yet another trying NBA regular season.
Over the past six seasons, few star players have endured a state of constant turmoil quite like Carmelo Anthony. The roster seems to undergo severe changes with every passing season, with multiple general managers, coaches, and teammates attempting to help Anthony resurrect New York’s most erratic franchise.
In February of 2016, the frustration is beginning to catch up to New York’s franchise player.
Since being traded from the Denver Nuggets to the New York Knicks in 2011, Anthony has played for four head coaches. A fifth is expected to be hired to replace Kurt Rambis, who currently holds the interim title.
According to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN New York, Anthony is doing his best to stay positive in yet another season of constant changes.
"“It’s been tough. It’s challenging,” Anthony said after being reminded that he has seen four coaches and three general managers plus one team president (Phil Jackson) and dozens of teammates since he was traded from the Denver Nuggets. “It’s challenging to kind of stay strong and positive through all this.”“You can’t control that,” Anthony said of all the changes in New York. “When you look at it, how many different coaches? Four different coaches. [A lot of] different players. I mean, that’s a lot to go through.”"
Anthony has always been candid with the New York media, so this isn’t much more than a further example of his brutal honesty.
Anthony has already stated that he will not wave his no-trade clause, which means he’s in New York for the long-haul. Nevertheless, it’s expected of a 31-year-old exiting his prime to wonder if he’ll have a chance to win a title when the roster around him isn’t up to par.
The Knicks’ recent history paints a troubling picture.
Knicks now sitting at 24-34 on the season.
— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) February 23, 2016
The Knicks have fallen at least 10 games below .500 in 11 of the last 15 seasons.
That’s not the type of statistic a franchise player wants to see.
In re-signing with the Knicks, Anthony passed up the opportunity to play for the Chicago Bulls. Chicago finished what would’ve been Anthony’s first season with the team at 50-32 and made a trip to the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
By comparison, the Knicks finished 2014-15 at 17-65.
A season later, New York is 24-34 with 12 losses in its past 14 games. A string of 10 losses in 11 outings led to the firing of head coach Derek Fisher, and New York is 1-2 with an 11-point loss to the 15-41 Brooklyn Nets and a 27-point loss at the Toronto Raptors under Rambis.
Anthony, meanwhile, is having one of the best seasons of his career.
Anthony’s scoring and efficiency have declined, which can be credited to the process of regaining his stamina and leg strength after undergoing knee surgery roughly a year ago. He’s averaging a career-best 4.2 assists, however, and is averaging the second-most rebounds per game of his career.
Anthony is also holding opponents to 39.8 percent shooting from the field, which is a borderline elite number.
Nevertheless, the Knicks are struggling and Anthony is shouldering a large portion of the blame. Whether fair or foul, that’s life for a player who’s considered to be the face of an NBA franchise in a major city.
Per Youngmisuk, Anthony isn’t allowing himself to develop a losing mentality.
"“My mood? Yeah, I need to go home and just relax, decompress a little bit,” a frustrated but polite Anthony said.“Regardless of the record, just losing, accepting that — it is hard to accept that,” said Anthony, who also has been coached by Mike D’Antoni and Mike Woodson with the Knicks. “You can’t be satisfied with losing basketball games.”"
The question is, when will the desire to win catch up with the actual results?
New York is 10 games below .500 with just 24 outings remaining on the schedule. The Knicks are also a daunting 6.5 games back of the No. 8 seed, which is a troubling sign considering they have nothing to utilize this season for other than developing Kristaps Porzingis and convincing free agents that New York is an attractive free agency destination.
It’s hard to imagine a big name watching the current Knicks and being excited by the proposition of playing for them.
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If nothing else, Anthony’s comments suggest that the Knicks are finally beginning to develop a sense of urgency.