Carmelo Anthony‘s future with the New York Knicks appeared to be set in stone after he signed a $129 million extension with the team in the summer of 2014, but as Kristaps Porzingis blossoms into an NBA star, whispers around the league have been that the Knicks could trade the superstar, who’s been with the team since he came over in a trading deadline trade in 2011, and get back some seriously serviceable parts that they could use to build their team into a contender.
None of those whispers appear to have any validity to them however, and it appears that Melo himself is looking to stay in New York, considering recent reports that the Celtics–a team on which Anthony would probably thrive and go deep into the playoffs with–couldn’t get him to waive his no-trade clause. Still, the former Syracuse University standout looks as if he’s becoming increasingly frustrated with the team’s recent struggles, which led to Derek Fisher‘s firing and all but mathematically eliminated them from postseason contention. That being said, it makes sense that a heckler was able to get to Melo during the Knicks loss to the Portland Trailblazers last night.
According to the New York Daily News, as Anthony sat on the bench, a loud heckler, not seated far from Knicks owner James Dolan, repeatedly yelled “You suck” towards the New York bench. Initially, Anthony ignored the raucous, but he eventually turned around, pointed to Dolan, and told the fan, “Look, the owner’s right there. Ask for your money back.” After the game, Anthony elaborated to a NYDN reporter, explaining, “He’s calling me and telling me he’s never coming to another game and we suck. Just don’t want to hear that. I pointed to the owner and told him you deal with that with him. Maybe you can get your money back.”
This morning, Melo apologized for his heat-of-the-moment reaction, saying that he “should not have responded” the way he did, and acknowledging that everyone from teammates to players are “frustrated” by the Knicks recent struggles.
— NY_KnicksPR (@NY_KnicksPR) March 2, 2016
Anthony and company will continue their quest to stay within an earshot of the 8th spot of the Eastern Conference playoff race in Boston on Friday night.
