When you play in New York City you better get used to your name appearing negatively on the back pages of daily tabloids. Carmelo Anthony is finding that out the hard way.
The New York Post reported that Anthony wanted to be traded by the Knicks prior to Thursday’s trade deadline due to a rift between him and head coach Mike D’Antoni.
Anthony spoke to reporters after shootaround Wednesday morning and denied any such thing.
“No, no, no, no. Let’s nip this in the bud right now. No,” Anthony said. “I don’t know where that came from. I’m tired of hearing it. It came out this morning from I guess an anonymous source. I’m tired of anonymous sources. I don’t want to be traded.”
Anthony has struggled to fit into D’Antoni’s up-tempo system this season, but said he is behind the coach “100 percent.” Anthony’s style of holding onto the ball and isolating for one-on-one plays has never meshed with D’Antoni’s philosophy.
When the team went on a seven-game winning streak in mid-February upon the breakout play of Jeremy Lin, Anthony was out with an injury. Since he returned on Feb. 20 against the Nets, the Knicks are 2-8 and have lost six straight.
Anthony is averaging 21.3 points per game, the lowest total since his second year in the league, and is shooting just 40 percent from the field. That is the lowest of his career by far. Lin has suffered in Anthony’s return as well. His points per game and shooting percentage are both down.
