What's the latest in the Carmelo Anthony saga?
Things have been up-and-down in recent months as far as Carmelo Anthony is concerned -- along with his future in the Big Apple. Overall, despite high hopes and some acquisitions prior to the start of this current NBA season, it would not be a stretch to say that the New York Knicks have underperformed.
With the still-developing Kristaps Porzingis, and the acquisitions of Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Brandon Jennings, and Courtney Lee, it's safe to assume that most fans would have thought that their team would be better situated than they currently are -- especially considering the overall lack of depth in the Eastern Conference.
New York Knicks have bigger problems
Still, even though Carmelo Anthony has had his share of struggles, it's not fair to place the blame solely upon his shoulders. There have been reports back and forth over whether he would stay in New York, or whether he would leave. There have even been reports in recent weeks of Phil Jackson and Carmelo Anthony playing a game of chess, in a sense. Carmelo Anthony has ultimate veto power with his no-trade clause, and Charles Barkley claimed recently that Phil Jackson was tanking the Knicks just so that Carmelo Anthony would waive his no-trade clause and leave New York.
According to the latest report from CBS Sports, Carmelo has no desire to leave New York, and thus, he will keep his no-trade clause intact moving forward.
There were a few rumored teams interested in potentially acquiring the services of Melo, however, with the aging star clearly adamant about not leaving the Big Apple, those teams will have to look at other options before the trade deadline passes in the next few days.
It has been reported that Melo loves being in New York, despite the losing seasons he has had to endure in his time there.
With the likes of the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Toronto Raptors still atop the Eastern Conference, even with him, the Knicks don't stand much of a chance of upsetting the power balance anytime soon.