Sources: Phil Jackson meets with Carmelo Anthony, asks star if he wants to stay with Knicks
— -- New York Knicks president Phil Jackson met with Carmelo Anthony on Tuesday and asked the star forward if he would like to remain with the team, sources close to the situation told ESPN.
Anthony reaffirmed to Jackson his desire to remain with the Knicks, a source told ESPN. The meeting took place after Anthony's public comments earlier this week about a critical column written by a confidant of Jackson's.
Several members of the organization believe that it's best for the Knicks and Anthony to part ways at this point, league sources told ESPN's Ian Begley.
Anthony, who has a no-trade clause, said Monday he was still loyal to the Knicks, but hoped management would speak to him directly if it felt as negatively about his future with the team as it was portrayed in a column written by Charley Rosen, who has worked with Jackson on his books.
Jackson met with Anthony to discuss those comments and his feelings about remaining with the organization for the final two years on his contract. One source originally described the meeting as contentious, but later modified that description to more substantive than previous sit-downs between Jackson and Anthony.
No specific trades were discussed, sources said, as both sides left the meeting to take time to process the situation and wait on Anthony's answer as to whether he wants to remain with the Knicks or accept a trade elsewhere.
Anthony has appeared annoyed when addressing the situation with the media in recent days, specifically when asked about the insinuation in Rosen's column that he was no longer valuable to the team.
"If that's the case, if that's where it's coming from, that side, I guess it's a conversation we should have,'' Anthony said Sunday. "If they feel my time in New York is over, I guess that's a conversation we should have."
Neither Jackson nor general manager Steve Mills addressed the situation with Anthony on Monday, the star forward said after the Knicks' 108-107 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
The Knicks (18-24) are in a free fall on the court, having lost 11 of their past 13 games.
ESPN's Ian Begley contributed to this report.
