Carmelo Anthony has chosen to stay with the Knicks despite being wooed by several teams during the offseason and is looking forward to what Knicks president Phil Jackson can come up with to ease the scoring burden left on his shoulders.
Anthony is known to be deadly scoring threat but at this stage of his career, Melo is looking to get some help on the offensive front. And while the Knicks did land some good names in Jose Calderon and Samuel Dalembert, Anthony believes that this is just the beginning of the Phil Jackson-era as far as the Knicks are concerned.
Jackson has been known to be a winner, having done so in the past with the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers, which he rewarded with multiple titles. This time around and on a higher level, the Knicks are hoping that Knick legend can weave his magic and push the underachieving squad into the winners circle.
Realistically, however, Anthony knows that the transition cannot happen instantly. Despite the entry of Calderon and Dalembert, he knows that he still has to pick up the scoring slack and find a way to get others players like Ama’re Stoudemire, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Andrea Bargnani into the playing picture.
Melo has been often criticized for taking a lot of shots, particularly last season. However with no other player willing to take up the offensive cudgels, such has been deemed necessary for the Knicks to stay abreast with other NBA teams. And this trend is expected to remain the same unless someone else picks up the slack, something Melo hopes could come soon as he tries to improve on other facets of his game.
Things could be different next year however with the Knicks having available cap space for potential free agents that would be available next season. At the top of the Knicks’ wishlist is Marc Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies, who could provide muscle and scoring options inside to help out Melo and company.
Curiously Marc’s brother Pau was a target in the offseason. Pau could have been reunited with Jackson, his former coach over at Los Angeles. Unfortunately, Pau opted to join the Chicago Bulls as he tries to provide help to Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah which seems to provide better chances at an NBA title run given that he is not getting any younger.
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Going back to Anthony, he knows that the Knicks have to make do with their resources for now. And while he looks forward to more quality recruits starting next season, his immediate wish is to see some of the players on the Knick roster to pick up the scoring load to help the ballclub fare better against more star-studded NBA teams in the coming NBA season.
