LOS ANGELES — Carmelo Anthony called his meeting in Denver with Knicks president Phil Jackson a “good conversation’’ in which he “got some answers I was looking for,’’ but ultimately indicated actions in July will be more important than words in March.
In his first response to the revelation Jackson and Anthony had a powwow when the road trip began in Denver last week, Anthony said the Knicks’ offseason moves in free agency will decide how happy he is with his situation in New York, admitting, “We got to do something.”
Barring a miracle, the Knicks (28-40) will miss the playoffs for a third straight season, leading to speculation Anthony ultimately could want to waive his no-trade clause and be moved to a contender if free agency doesn’t pan out.
“It’s in their court,’’ Anthony said late Sunday at Staples Center after the Knicks’ 90-87 win over the Lakers. “The ball is in their court. They have an opportunity, we have an opportunity to do something this offseason. We got to do something. It’s there. Everybody has money this summer. It’s an even playing field. We got to hit the ground running.’’
The Knicks, who need backcourt help, have $18 million in cap space — which is not even enough for a max contract. But two players, Arron Afflalo and Derrick Williams, have opt-outs, and the Knicks could save cap space by waiving Lakers-game hero Jose Calderon using the stretch provision.
“I thought it was a good conversation,’’ said Anthony, whose mood has wavered the past two seasons amid questions about his commitment to the Jackson project. “I thought it was a good time for us to sit down and talk. It was more of just an open dialogue. Questions that I had. I won’t go into details about those questions. It was good for me to get it out there. Talk about it. Get his response and feedback. That was that.’’
It’s likely Anthony also wished to know if Jackson planned to finish his five-year contract. Jackson has an opt-out late next season at his three-year anniversary.
But more important is the fact the Knicks’ star player and Jackson are communicating again. They’ve had a distant relationship recently; Anthony related after the trade deadline they hadn’t talked in a while. But Jackson seems willing to be around the team more on the road now that his buddy Kurt Rambis is running the show. He has made the entire trip that continues Wednesday in Oakland, Calif., against the Warriors.
“He wanted to meet,’’ Anthony said. “We thought this would be a good time to meet on the road in Denver, start of a road trip. I think you should want that as a player and whoever is the top decision-maker. If you don’t have that connection, a lot of things can get misconstrued, miscommunicated. You have to have a conversation and relationship with whoever’s making that decision.’’
Jackson had described the meeting with Anthony being more back-and-forth than usual. The team president said he would oblige if Anthony wanted out, saying, “It’s in his lap.”
“I got some answers,’’ Anthony said. “That’s what I was looking for. I’ll leave it at that. This was a conversation out of all conversations we had, it was more open and dialogue from both sides. Not just one-sided. The questions were asked. Pretty standard questions. Questions you can answer easily.’’
On Friday, Jackson said he still considered Anthony a cornerstone of the franchise despite the emergence of 7-foot-3 phenom Kristaps Porzingis. Jackson also claimed Anthony made no mention of wanting to leave.
“That was more coming from his side, expressing that,’’ Anthony said of his role in the brain-trust’s vision. “It felt good to hear that.”
Anthony’s mood swings have been troubling. At All-Star Weekend, he indicated he would have a talk with his “team” of agents about his Knicks future. In January of last season, Anthony and Jackson had dinner in London during the 17-65 season, so the president could quell Anthony’s concerns. Anthony admitted it’s been hard to remain positive.
“For me, it was a matter of sometimes you go through ups and downs during the season, it starts to get to you,’’ Anthony said. “Things are not as clear as you’d like it to be and there are no answers. Sometimes I take myself out of the situation, exhale and breathe and not let the situation stress me out too much and try to control the things I can control.”
Anthony is close friends with Kobe Bryant, who said Sunday that Knicks fans need to trust Jackson, with whom he won five rings for the Lakers. That could hold weight with Anthony, too.
“The people in New York need to trust the fact he knows more about the game than any of them put together,’’ Bryant said. “We wouldn’t have won any of those championships without him.”
However, Jackson’s role then was as head coach — not as team president.