Carmelo Anthony said he met with Knicks owner James Dolan after Thursday’s loss to the Trail Blazers, but claimed it didn’t revolve around coach Mike Woodson’s job status. And they had tea.
“I hope I can meet with the owners sometimes,’’ Anthony said. “I met with him. It wasn’t nothing serious. Just a generic conversation, just talking. I had tea. He had tea. That’s it. We didn’t get into details about anything. Just a conversation we had.’’
Whether they discussed Anthony’s impending free agency — or the fact the Knicks can offer him a three-year, $75 million contract extension on Feb. 22 — is unclear.
But Anthony praised Woodson, who again is on thin ice. Anthony indicated the players have to stop squawking about game plans, and start executing them and playing harder.
“We got to help him, too,’’ Anthony said after the Knicks crushed the Nuggets at the Garden, 117-90. “He’s the coach. He has his focus, his game plan and schemes. We got to go out there and execute that. We can’t fight that. We have to do that. Sometimes our inconsistencies come from not playing hard. Not bringing the energy and the little things on the basketball court to win. Some nights we do. Some nights we don’t.’’
Dolan could be swayed by Anthony’s feelings. One source familiar with Anthony’s thinking said he still likes Woodson as the team’s head coach and feels he did a lot for his game across the last two-plus seasons, particularly on defense. If he expressed those feelings to Dolan, it would likely weigh in his decision.
Before the rout of the Nuggets, Woodson said he’s still the man for the job.
Asked if he deserves to carry on considering his solid record in his first two seasons, Woodson said: “That’s not my call. My call right now is I’m still the head coach of the Knicks and I proudly say that. And I still got a job to do. And do I think I’m the guy for the job? Absolutely I do. That’s not going to ever change. That being said we’re 2 ½ [games] out [two out after the win] and somehow we got to stop the bleeding win a game and start feeling good about ourselves.’’
Woodson’s rhetoric no longer includes any bold statements regarding winning the Atlantic Division, admitting it is “slipping away from us.’’
His job may be, too, as Dolan contemplated a coaching change following Monday’s loss to league-worst Milwaukee.
“I’m very confident,’’ Woodson said of being the guy to turn around the Knicks’ 20-30 record. “I’ve always been confident in what I can do as a coach. It didn’t start out that way when I left Detroit [as an assistant] and went to Atlanta. It was an uphill climb in terms of building a team. I’ve grown from those days. I’ve been in situations before and been in position to take a young team and get them to that eighth spot. ‘’