GREENBURGH, N.Y. - Phil Jackson hopes that Carmelo Anthony "is true to his word" and takes less than a maximum contract to re-sign with the Knicks.
Jackson said he will talk to Anthony and try to convince him that if he gives up some money, then he could have better supporting players around him. But the Knicks president also said the team is going forward whether Anthony stays or not.
"I'm all about moving forward," Jackson said Wednesday. "Just deal with what is and move forward. If it's in the cards, man are we fortunate. If it's not in the cards, man are we fortunate. We're going forward anyway."
Anthony will opt out of his contract and become a free agent July 1. The Knicks can give him a five-year deal worth roughly $129 million, about $34 million more than other teams can offer.
During All-Star weekend, Anthony said he would take less if it gave the Knicks more flexibility to sign other stars. That's what Jackson wants, and cited what Tim Duncan has done in San Antonio and Miami Heat's trio of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, who sacrificed millions to play together.
"I think a precedent's been set," Jackson said. "The way things have been structured now financially for teams is that it's really hard to have one or two top stars or max players and to put together a team with enough talent you've got to have people making sacrifices financially, so we hope that Carmelo is true to his word and we understand what it's going to take and we will present that to him at that time."
It doesn't sound like Jackson is planning to go all out in trying to get Anthony to stay. When someone asked about "wooing" Anthony, Jackson, an 11-time champion as a coach, said he won't do that.
"I like convincing," he said. "I'd like to appeal to his better nature, by winning, and that's what we want to do."
Jackson acknowledged that whether or not Anthony stays, the roster will look different next season.
"There are going to be changes," Jackson said. "There's always changes in team dynamics. I told the players that [last] Wednesday night. There will be changes. That's just the way basketball is. . . . You change the dynamics and one or two guys can change the complexity of a team. And the personality changes because of that. So we hope that that's an addition that will help lighten the load of his teammates."
http://www.newsday.com/sports/basketball/knicks/phil-jackson-with-or-without-carmelo-anthony-knicks-will-move-forward-1.7802510
