Demo Sports Daily

The New York Knicks find themselves on a six-game losing streak.  Barely clinging to the final playoff spot, they now have to deal with yet another loss.

A day after reports came out speculating that Carmelo Anthony either wanted coach Mike D’Antoni fired or a trade, D’Antoni has resigned.

D’Antoni said that the decision was mutual and due to the fact that he and the organization have “conflicting views of the Knicks’ future.”

It is easy to assume that Carmelo Anthony is at the heart of this conflict. Since coming over in a trade last season, Anthony never really fit in to D’Antoni’s system.  D’Antoni likes to play fast paced. Melo likes to slow things down.  D’Antoni likes to distribute the ball all over the court.  Melo likes to take the majority of the shots.  Like oil and water, these two could just never mix.  A decision had to be made, but I feel that the team made the wrong decision.

The real problem in New York is Anthony.  In his absence, the team proved that the system could work, winning eight out of nine games on the shoulders of the previously unknown Jeremy Lin. At the time,I wrote that the only thing that could stop the “Lin-sanity” was the return of Carmelo Anthony.  Since his return, the team has only won twice in their last ten contests.

Don’t get me wrong, Anthony is one of the best pure scores in the game.  No matter how he tries to score or where he takes his shots, he is capable of making them.  Unfortunately when I say pure scorer, I mean that is all he is capable of.  He refuses to run on offense or defense.  He is a sub-par rebounder for his size.  He doesn’t pass.  He is invisible on defense.  And he demands at least 20 shots a game.

The problem is that the team is only 2-11 this season when Anthony takes at least 20 shots.  He gets exactly what he wants and it hurts the team.  That is not the makings of a superstar.  That is the makings of a cancer for his team.

The Nuggets dealt with it for years, and he still demanded a trade.  New York should have been next.  D’Antoni tried, suggesting swapping him with the Nets’ Deron Williams.  The fans are even starting to realize it, booing Anthony in recent games at Madison Square Garden.  So why is he still in the Big Apple when he’sthe worm turning it rotten?

The answer is simple.  The team gave up too much in the trade to get Anthony to give up on him after only a year.  So they will cater to their primadona; even if it comes at the expense of the team.  They will allow him to slow the game down to a snail crawl.  And by allowing D’Antoni to leave, they show they are willing to alienate the other two members of their big three: Lin and Amare Stoudemire, who flourished in D’Antoni’s system.

Honestly, there is only one man who could right the ship.  The Zen-Master himself Phil Jackson.  He commands respect, and has proven he has the ability to manage big egos.  Shaq, Kobe, MJ, Rodman, Pippen, Artest and the list goes on and on.  This may be the only coach on the planet that Carmelo Anthony will listen to.  More importantly, anyone should be able to see that Anthony, Lin and Stoudemire would excel in Jackson’s famed triangle offense.

Now that the team has a vacancy, all it has to hope for is that he is interested.  Jackson played for the Knicks and is believed to be fond of the organization.  That being said, he may not want to come into the drama that Melo has created in New York.  If he is mentally up to the task, is he physically?   Does he have the health to hold up? Finally, does he want to end his retirement after less than a year? All this remains to be seen.

If Allen Iverson is “The Answer,” then Carmelo Anthony should be called “The Question.” All he does is raise doubts in the future of the franchises that are cursed with him on their roster.