Category: News

Melo to Replace Kevin Love as 2017 All-Star

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Carmelo Anthony is once again an All-Star. The Knicks forward learned today the NBA has selected him to replace the injured Kevin Love.

Love is expected to miss six weeks to recover from knee surgery. Sunday’s game will be Melo’s 10th All-Star game appearance.

Anthony is averaging 23 points on 44% shooting for the season. The selection comes with Melo on a recent hot streak of 26 points on 46% shooting for his last 10 games.

 

James Dolan Bans Oakley from MSG: “We need to keep the Garden safe.”

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Knicks owner James Dolan has confirmed that Charles Oakley is indefinitely banned from Madison Square Garden.

Dolan appeared on Michael Kay’s show to explain his side, implying that Oakley was abusive and was possibly intoxicated. Oakley has maintained that he did nothing wrong and was surrounded by officials within 4 minutes of taking his seat.

“It’s very clear to us that Charles Oakley came to the Garden with an agenda,” said Dolan. “From the moment he stepped into the Garden he began with this behavior, this abusive behavior. Disrespectful behavior… Charles should have never made it to his seat.”

Aside from the ban, the most significant fallout has been Dolan’s firing of Frank Benedetto, MSG’s Senior VP of Security. The Knicks also sent out another video of the incident with 15 eyewitness accounts that allegedly support Dolan’s assertions.

Watch excerpts from Dolan’s interview below.

I know one thing — there better be huge Oakley chants all throughout tonight’s game. I’m sure in Dolan’s mind he’s saving the Knicks’ reputation by going on the radio and disparaging Oak as a out of control, alcoholic monster. All it’s doing is making the franchise look more dysfunctional and ironically in line with the public disrespect Phil Jackson has been laying on Melo in recent weeks.

The Knicks PR statement should have said an unfortunate incident and we’re working with our staff and Oakley to ensure it never happens again. Instead, this interview will prolong the media circus for weeks to come (possibly the rest of the season).

What a time to be a Knicks fan…

[Video] Charles Oakley Says He Did Nothing to Provoke MSG Fight and Arrest

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Charles Oakley was freed early Thursday morning after being arrested for assaulting Madison Square Garden security and criminal trespassing last night during the Knicks-Clippers game.

Oakley gave the below interview to explain his side and refute allegations that his behavior was abusive and directed at Knicks owner James Dolan.

Don’t expect to see Oakley back at the Garden anytime soon, or possibly ever again.

 

 

 

 

[Video] Charles Oakley Arrested and Charged for Fight During Knicks-Clippers Game

 

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Charles Oakley had a dubious homecoming tonight. A  shoving match with officials resulted in the Knicks legend being ejected from Madison Square Garden and arrested by the New York Police Department.

Details are sketchy, but Oak apparently got into some sort of dispute with Knicks owner James Dolan. Attempts to calm him were rebuffed as Oakley shoved and shouted at several Garden officials.

After Oakley was lead away and cuffed, Knicks president Phil Jackson reportedly attempted to calm Oakley one last time in the Garden tunnel.

The Knicks PR department released a brief statement that referenced Oakley’s behavior as “abusive.”

At press time, Oakley has been charged with three counts of assault and criminal trespassing. He is denying that he said anything to Dolan and was surrounded by security for no reason.

Dolan and Oakley have had a contentious relationship since the latter’s retirement. Oakley has been public in his criticism of Dolan’s leadership, prompting the Knicks owner to exclude Oakley from all events that have honored former players in recent years.

As if this season couldn’t get any more bizarre. Despite the circumstances, this is still more fight than the Knicks have shown lately. We’ll hear Oakley’s side soon enough.

 

Phil Jackson Breaks Silence to Slander Melo on Twitter

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If you were expecting Phil Jackson to break his media silence with a professional press conference, think again. The Knicks president took to Twitter to take a thinly veiled shot at Carmelo Anthony and gave further fuel to the chaotic atmosphere that has become the Knicks since Melo hit the trading block.

The tweet centers around Jackson’s response to a highly critical article from Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding that questioned Melo’s will to win and alleged infatuation with the spotlight. Phil gave his seal of approval while comparing Melo’s shortcomings to 80s CBA journeyman named Michael Graham.

Graham played on the 1984 champion Georgetown Hoyas. His academic career was mired by off the court issues. Graham was drafted by the Supersonics but failed to make the final roster. He played four years in the CBA averaging 7.8 points and 6.6 rebounds.

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Yeah, this is the player Phil Jackson is comparing his star athlete to.

Never in a million years did I think Phil Jackson could turn the Knicks into a bigger joke than what we saw in the Isiah Thomas years. We have a toxic atmosphere where neither the players nor the coaches know what’s going on. Every day they’re out there trying to make sense of the rumors being leaked from Phil’s office or his minions in the media. It is clearly a major factor in the team’s recent tepid play, including last night’s debacle at home against the Lakers.

So what does Jackson do as our leader? Trashes the player he’s allegedly trying to get teams interested in trading for. It remains to be seen if this disrespect is enough to get Melo to trade his no-trade clause and essentially get ran out of town. And we wonder why most elite free agents have no interest in joining this mess.

Brandon Jennings and Courtney Lee Sound Off On Blowout Loss to Lakers

 

 

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The Knicks went into practice Tuesday afternoon still reeling from a shameful 121-107 home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.

The team played perhaps their worst game of the season and guards Brandon Jennings and Courtney Lee offered no excuses for the pitiful performance. Jennings had this to say to assembled media:

You can’t coach effort and energy. That’s something we should all have. I mean, we all make millions of dollars playing this game, so the least we can do is go out there and play hard every night.

Lee went as far as to offer an apology to the fans for their performance.

Definitely got to apologize to the fans and everybody that spent their hard-earned money to come watch us play. We definitely didn’t show up and compete at a level that we needed to compete at to win the game, especially in the situation we’re in right now and where we’re trying to go.

At this point, most Knick fans have reached a stage of complete apathy (present company included). Show me Knicks, quit telling me.

Carmelo Anthony’s IG Post Hints at Rejecting Knicks Trade Talks?

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Today’s news on the Carmelo Anthoy trade front comes courtesy of a cryptic Instagram post from Melo himself.

The Knicks veteran’s picture caption speaks on not “running away” from difficult situations.

My first reaction when reading this is that Melo, who already told Phil Jackson face to face that he wanted to remain a Knick, does not plan on being ran out of town and won’t waive his No Trade Clause. And that he’s willing to endure more losing seasons until Porzingis develops and a better team is constructed.

However, we’d be remiss to not look at the other possible angle — that Melo’s “unpleasant” reality is realizing that he won’t be able to contend in New York and the time has come to part ways.

Kudos to Melo’s PR team because the wording is vague enough to make both interpretations valid depending on your feelings about the polarizing Knicks star.

Tell me your take in the below comments.

Knicks Reached Out to Celtics and Clippers for Melo Trade Talks

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It turns out the Cavs weren’t the only team the Knicks targeted for a Melo trade. The Knicks are also trying to engage the Los Angeles Clippers and Boston Celtics to deal Carmelo Anthony before the February 23 trade deadline.

According to The Vertical, Knicks president Phil Jackson is determined to get rid of Anthony and start to rebuild around Kristaps Porzingis. A potential trade would relieve the Knicks of the 2.5 years remaining on Melo’s contract, which totals $78.6 million and runs through the 2018-2019 season.

Unconfirmed sources claim Anthony would consider playing for the Clippers, where he could be paired with close friend Chris Paul. Boston remains an intriguing option for the Knicks if they can get the Celtics’ 1st round pick, which was acquired from Boston several years ago during the trades for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.

As of yesterday, Anthony has stated the Knicks front office has not contacted him regarding any trade talks.

I loathe the thought of having to hear about this drama for the rest of the season. Unfortunately, it appears this is our new reality as Knick fans. Melo got the no-trade clause for a reason and every indication seems to be he wants to stick it out here. He always dreamed of playing here and he hedging his bets on outlasting Phil. Griffin is a very good player, but I’d rather have Boston’s 1st rounder to get one of the promising PGs in the upcoming draft.

Like I said yesterday, we’re long shots to get either the Clippers or Boston to bite on this trade. Melo’s a more versatile scorer than Griffin, but he’s also five years older and one more significant injury away from being washed. And Boston likely gets a Top 3 pick this year and potentially a young star to join their strong core over an aging great player that won’t be enough to get them past Cleveland nor Toronto.

The “Melo-Drama” is just beginning. Thanks, Phil.

Cavs Turn Down Knicks’ Melo for Love Trade Inquiry

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The Knicks’ first trade inquiry for Carmelo Anthony did not gain traction as the Cleveland expressed no interest in a proposed swap for Kevin Love.

According to ESPN, the Knicks contacted Cleveland’s front office earlier today to gauge interest. The plan was if the Cavs were receptive, the Knicks could approach Anthony about waiving his no-trade clause for the opportunity to play for a contender.

Unfortunately for the Knicks, this idea comes about two years too late. Anthony, while still a formidable player and borderline all-star, is a 32-year-old whose explosiveness and lift have been permanently damaged from season-ending knee surgery in 2014. Although Love has struggled recently, he’s still in his athletic prime at 28 with no significant injury history.

Rumors of a potential Melo trade heated up earlier this week when the Cavs lost in embarrassing fashion to an Anthony Davis-less Pelicans, prompting LeBron James to tell the media the team’s personnel was lacking and they needed “a fucking playmaker.”

Next on the Knicks’ list will probably be the Clippers (Blake for Melo) and the Celtics (Melo for a pick). The Clippers will probably give the same answer as Griffin also has youth on his side. As for Boston, I can’t see them parting with a 1st round pick since a Melo acquisition wouldn’t be enough to put them over the Cavs or possibly even the Raptors in a playoff battle.

Love him or hate ’em, Carmelo is very likely to at least finish out the year in New York.

[Live Updates] Derrick Rose No-Shows Pelicans Game Over Family Emergency

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Derrick Rose is missing. As incredulous as that sounds, the former MVP has not been heard from since the Knicks hosted the Pelicans tonight at Madison Square Garden. Officials reportedly could not reach him before the game nor during the duration of the contest.

Of course, the jokes have been flying on social media about this. For me, I’m very worried. No matter how upset he might be at being benched the last two games, I can’t envision Rose being so unprofessional as to not show up for work. He’s in a contract year and a move like that effectively sinks his brand. So the only other alternative is something serious going on. I’m hoping it’s a confidential family matter that only a few high-level Knicks officials know about.

More on this as the story develops…

UPDATE #1 – Coach Hornacek has no answers post-game, but at least it sounds like he’s alive.

UPDATE #2 – Rose quit on the team?

UPDATE #3 – Joakim Noah made contact with Rose after the game.

UPDATE #4 – Rose informed the Knicks he had a family situation.