Knicks News: Carmelo Anthony praise, Raptors confusing head coach search

Apr 6, 2017; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) inspects the ball before a game against the Washington Wizards at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 6, 2017; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) inspects the ball before a game against the Washington Wizards at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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A New York Knicks legend announced his retirement on Monday, marking the end of a 19-year season that began in 2003. Carmelo Anthony went unsigned for the entirety of the 2022-23 season and has officially decided to hang it up.

Current and former players from around the league took to social media to give Melo a shoutout, including Kevin Durant. The Suns forward decided to use humor to recognize Melo with a series of photos that he posted to his Instagram story.

Meanwhile, Jalen Brunson took to Twitter to show his respect for Melo’s career, as did a slew of other players. Julius Randle posted on Instagram.

LeBron James, a close friend of Melo’s, gave the forward a shoutout on his Instagram story. Melo spent his last full season in the league with LeBron and the Lakers. Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade, other close friends of Melo and LeBron’s, posted a tribute to Anthony as well.

More Knicks news

  • Now that Carmelo Anthony has made his retirement official, the push for the Knicks to retire his No. 7 jersey has already started (subscription required).
  • The Raptors are still in search of their next head coach. On Monday afternoon, Shams Charania reported that Toronto had spoken with Steve Nash about the vacancy. The Nets fired Nash at the start of the 2022-23 season. Nash joins a bewildering list of people that the Raptors have connected with.
  • The Knicks’ No. 34 overall pick in the 2021 draft, Rokas Jokubaitis, was in the EuroLeague Final Four with Barcelona, who lost to Real Madrid, 78-66.

NBA news

  • With Melo retiring, LeBron James is the only player from the 2003 draft class in the NBA.
  • Jimmy Butler’s troll game is just about as good as his game on the court. The Heat will have the chance to sweep the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals in Game 4, which will tip-off on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. ET on TNT.
  • San Antonio has the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, which will undoubtedly wind up being Victor Wembanyama. However, Scoot Henderson believes that the Spurs should consider drafting him with the pick.