Knicks Trade Rumors: Pros And Cons Of Trading Carmelo Anthony

Pro: Embracing Defense

The New York Knicks are coming off of a season during which they ranked amongst the worst defensive teams in the NBA. New York ranked No. 23 in the NBA in points allowed per game and No. 25 in points allowed per 100 possessions.

During Phil Jackson’s recent meeting with the press, the team president outright stated that he wants to replace Anthony with high-level defensive players.

"“Right now, we need players that are really active, can play every single play. Defensively and offensively. That’s really important for us. We started to get some players on the floor that can do that, you know, and that’s the direction we have to go.”"

It’s unfortunate that such players would be needed to fix the defense, but the numbers support what Jackson is saying.

Anthony finished the 2016-17 regular season at No. 418 in the NBA in Defensive Real Plus-Minus. It’s also worth noting that the Knicks allowed 111.1 points per 100 possessions with the 10-time All-Star on the floor.

Of the players who were on the court for at least 1,000 minutes in 2016-17, no player on the Knicks had a worse defensive rating than Anthony.

By comparison, the Knicks had a team-best defensive rating of 104.7 points per 100 possessions with Anthony on the bench. That’s a difference of 6.4 points per 100 possessions, as well as a telling sign of his influence on the defensive end of the floor.

If Anthony is unwilling to buy in on the defensive end of the floor, then Jackson wouldn’t be in the wrong to find players who are.