Carmelo Anthony said he “wants to stay’’ with the Knicks, but competing for a title is still his No. 1 priority in his free-agent decision.
Anthony was impressed with Knicks president Phil Jackson during Thursday’s exit meeting, but said the Zen Master didn’t map out his plan for the anticipated 2015 salary-cap space.
Anthony said he and Jackson met for 12 minutes, along with general manager Steve Mills. Lame-duck coach Mike Woodson wasn’t present at the exit meetings.
Anthony said he could “listen’’ to Jackson speak “all day.’’
“I want to come back,” Anthony said at the team’s Greenburgh practice facility. “I want to come back. But I also want to win. If we can put ourselves in a position to compete at a high level over the course of five years, whatever that contract will be, I’m willing to stay here. I never once said I wanted to leave. I always said I want to explore options and see what’s out there.”
Asked if he would consider holding off until 2015 to become a free agent to see Jackson work his magic for a year, Anthony said he still plans to opt out of the final year of his deal, which would pay him $23.4 million.
“I’ve looked at every scenario, thought of every situation,’’ Anthony said. “I think right now it’s the best time for me to do that.’’
As a free agent, the Knicks could offer him a maximum 5-year, $129 million deal while other teams can top out at four years, $96 million.
Anthony said he’s willing to take less than the maximum if it means giving the Knicks more cap flexibility. After all, Anthony pointed out he’d have to take a smaller contract to sign with another team under the rules of the collective bargaining agreement.
“At this point of my career, I’m not concerned with money,’’ Anthony said. “The contract will be the contract. I’d like to consider myself financially stable. For me, it’s more day-to-day stuff, competing at a high level, night in, night out, having a chance of reaching my ultimate goal of winning that championship.’’
Anthony said he enjoyed immensely his conversation with Jackson.
“[There was] some insight,’’ Anthony said. “Phil always comes with some kind of knowledge. Which is always good. We didn’t get into detail any specifics about anything. We went on a recap of the season.
“His knowledge and wisdom is something I can sit down and listen to all day long. He’s very philosophical. He has an answer for every scenario. He makes everything clear. Just the way he talks and his delivery, his message is something I can listen to all day.
“I got a better feeling from the simple fact Phil and I never had that kind of conversation before,’’ Anthony added. “It wasn’t nothing that was imminent, wasn’t nothing that I said ‘OK let’s get this done right now’ because we didn’t have that conversation.’’
Still, Anthony said winning is the only thing.
“At this point of my career, it’s about winning — nothing else really matters,” he said. “That’s not going to change. That’s still going to be my mind-set. It is my mind-set. That’s going to be my No. 1 thing.’’
Anthony is hoping Jackson’s plan is not to tank next season in preparation for 2015.
“I’m not at a point where I want to rebuild,’’ Anthony said. “If we can work with the pieces we have and Phil brings his knowledge of running a basketball program to this, we [would have something to talk about.]”
Asked about rumored suitors that could be closer to a title such as Chicago and Houston, Anthony said, “Other teams that’s out there, as far as teams that could be the best situation, you never know. Sometimes the grass is not always greener on the other side. This is stuff I have to sit down with myself and my family and really figure this thing out.
It’s not a decision that’s going to happen overnight.”
Missing the playoffs for the first time in his 11-year career, Anthony said, has haunted him into sleepless nights.
“It’s embarrassing,’’ Anthony said. “For me. I can’t even put that into words. I can’t describe the feeling. Last couple of nights, staying up all night, figuring out what happened, what went wrong.
“Not making the playoffs is a failure. It’s a chapter in my book I will never ever forget about.’’
Anthony got emotional at the end of his press conference regarding his feeling opposing players want to see him do the right thing.
“It’s a topic anywhere I go,’’ Anthony said. “Guys want to know what I’m going to do. Guys have their opinions. Whether come play with them or do something else. To have that feeling from guys I play against and get insight on what I should do, the only thing I take from that is they want to see me succeed. If I wasn’t a good person at heart, I wouldn’t be having the conversation. Guys want to see me do good.’’