The Big O thinks Carmelo Anthony should leave the Big Apple.
Hall-of-Fame guard Oscar Robertson said on a taping of Spike Lee’s SiriusXM radio show set to air Thursday night that Anthony always will be “criticized’’ in New York for whatever he does and the Knicks’ expensive roster is too injury-riddled to contend for a championship. Robertson believes Houston would be the perfect landing spot.
“I would leave today,’’ Robertson said. “Let me tell you why: Wherever that kid has gone, when he was at Denver, they had a team that fooled around with the ball, then all of a sudden when they needed a basket, threw it to Carmelo. Then, when he shot the ball, they said he shot too much. Then when he didn’t shoot, they said he didn’t shoot enough.
“No matter what he does in New York, they’re going to criticize him, the people are going to criticize him, because you got guys on that team [the Knicks] that cannot play. You got guys that are hurt all the time.’’
When Lee asked him whether Phil Jackson makes a difference, Robertson responded: “Let me ask you: When was the last time Phil Jackson played? … I think Phil is great to have gotten $12 million out of [owner Jim Dolan]. Super job. Take the money and run. If I were Carmelo I would say, ‘Listen, I’m not gonna stay here and take all this gruff and all this criticism. You got other guys on this team making $12, $15, $16 million and doing nothing, and here I am averaging 28, 29 points per game.’”
The Post first reported Houston’s interest in Anthony as a free agent last month, but the Rockets need to work a sign-and-trade if they can’t clear the necessary cap space.
“Melo would have a huge impact on Houston,’’ Robertson said. “If he goes to Houston, they’re gonna win everything. You look at LeBron [James], LeBron’s got a great game and the kid down at Oklahoma, [Kevin] Durant’s got a great game – they can’t out-shoot Carmelo.’’
Jackson said Wednesday the Knicks can survive and “move on’’ if Anthony flees, but Robertson believes Anthony is a better shooter than Durant.
“Yes I do,’’ Robertson said. “I’ve seen him in a lot of basketball games over the years, and I’m telling you right now the kid, he just can get that shot away. Now he’s gotten smarter — he’s going to the basket a lot. But what gets me is that everyone thinks that everything that happens [that’s] bad is his fault.’’
Jackson said Wednesday he hopes Anthony stays “true to his word,’’ referring to an All-Star break proclamation that he would be willing to take a pay cut to help the Knicks’ cap flexibility. His comments caused a stir because instead of praising Anthony for making the offer, Jackson indicated he expected it to be done since “a precedent has been set’’ in the league with superstars such as James, Dwyane Wade and Tim Duncan taking less than the maximum.