There is no right answer —none that will appease those wanting to forecast Carmelo Anthony’s future or blame him for the present state of the Knicks.
No matter what he says or how he says it, Anthony is in a no-win situation whenever he talks about his contract or what’s wrong with a franchise he is expected to lead to a championship. Words aren’t going to satisfy anyone. But more games like he played against the Nets Thursday night at Barclays Center will.
A day that began with Anthony denying a radio report he had already made his decision to opt out of his contract at the end of this season and leave the Knicks ended with him helping his team end a nine-game losing streak with a 113-83 beat down of the Nets. Now maybe he can exhale without his every word being scrutinized.
“Tonight was the way we know that we can play, making shots, and defensively we stepped up to the plate,” said Anthony, who scored 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting.
Anthony was smiling again after the Knicks’ most spirited game of the season. Earlier in the day, he had spent time trying to put out the latest brush fire caused when ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith cited sources who claimed Anthony’s imminent departure was a done deal.
“It’s not coming from me and it’s not coming from the people I talk to on a daily basis,” Anthony said during the morning shootaround. “I don’t talk to anybody about that on my crew, on my team, family. It’s not true.”
Yet, Anthony didn’t rule out the possibility of becoming a free agent. As athletes will do, he has flip-flopped on the issue, saying at one point he was looking forward to free agency and at another time saying he wanted to “retire” as a Knick.
Let’s face it. Both can be true depending on the time and temperature. The fact the Knicks can pay him $33 million more than any other team to keep his services is reason enough for him to want to consider retiring in orange and blue. More nights like the Knicks had in Brooklyn will help, too.
Iman Shumpert came to life, scoring 17 points; the Knicks rediscovered their 3-point shooting (16-of-27) and Andrea Bargnani (16 points) stood his ground and jawed at Kevin Garnett hard enough to get ejected in the fourth quarter.
Who’s soft now?
“We played with a sense of urgency tonight from the tipoff,” Anthony said. “Guys just felt it offensively and defensively. The energy was there tonight. The intensity was there for the whole four quarters.”
The win might have saved coach Mike Woodson’s job and eased the scrutiny of Anthony’s future, which is the last thing he wants discussed.
“I’d be selfish to think about it at this point with us losing and going through the situation we’re going through,” Anthony said before the game.
Still, such “reports” are taken as gospel and become instant fodder for the endless stream of radio and television talk shows looking for material. Anthony was immediately cast as a rat deserting a sinking ship even before he had a chance to respond. And when he does respond, his answers don’t seem to satisfy anyone because he clearly wants to keep his options open, but doesn’t want to sound as if he’s leaving.
Anthony has every right to opt-out of his contract the way CC Sabathia of the Yankees did at the end of the 2012 season. It’s a clause the Knicks agreed to and one Anthony would be foolish not to exploit.
Yet, the uncertainty around his future is already creating a division among the Knicks fan base, between those who want to keep Anthony and those who think he should be traded in order to protect the franchise from losing him and getting nothing in return. The real threat is if there’s division within the organization as well.
At least for one night, Anthony and the Knicks have quieted the chatter.