Carmelo Anthony is expected to be one of the most coveted free agents this coming off-season and the Los Angeles Lakers have been one of his possible destinations.
This week, former Laker head coach Phil Jackson is expected to join the Knicks front office and many believed it would be enough to sway Anthony into staying in New York. Jackson brings respect and 11 championship rings to the table that could prompt Anthony to change his mind of testing the market.
According to Chris Herring of the Wall Street Journal, the Jackson hiring may not have the impact on Anthony’s decision as many thought:
Carmelo says he doesn’t see the Jackson acquisition as impacting his FA decision a ton
— Chris Herring (@HerringWSJ) March 12, 2014
With the Knicks out of the playoff hunt, Anthony has been making all the headlines as he inches closer to free agency. Reports have surfaced that have the 29-year-old heading to the Lakers to join forces with Kobe Bryant, joining the Chicago Bulls after some recruiting by Joakim Noah and remaining with the Knicks because they offer the most money. This season, the Knicks forward is averaging 28.0 points per game, along with 8.3 rebounds per game. Even with his scoring, the Knicks are just 25-40 and will not even have a chance to get a lottery pick because they owe their 2014 first-rounder to the Denver Nuggets as a part of the trade that brought Anthony to New York.
Jackson, who had been linked to the Lakers head coaching position over the last two seasons, will likely join the team he played for back in his NBA career and will try to turn around a team that was a playoff team the past two seasons. His first move this off-season will be retaining Anthony and building a team around him.
If the reports are true, simply being Phil Jackson will not be enough to sway the 29-year-old scorer.
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