NEW YORK -- Carmelo Anthony came to New York nearly three years ago with a clear mandate. It's pretty obvious, after the Knicks lost their sixth straight home game and dropped to 3-8 on Wednesday night, that this isn't quite what he had in mind.

This is what the Knicks signed up for, though. And it's only beginning.

This isn't a snap judgment after 11 games of what so far has been a lost basketball season in New York, regardless of borough. This isn't about whether the Knicks will "dig ourselves out of this hole," as Anthony put it Wednesday night after a crushing, 103-96 overtime loss to the Indiana Pacers -- the team with the best record in the East (10-1) and the team that bounced the Knicks out of the playoffs last season.

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This is about a process that began unfolding the night the Knicks finally pulled off the massive trade that brought Anthony to New York in February 2011 -- a process that will only kick into overdrive if the Knicks don't find their way out of this.

If they don't, anyone can see what's coming: Mike Woodson gets fired, company man Herb Williams becomes the interim coach and the drumbeat begins in the background for John Calipari to make his long-awaited return to the NBA.

You don't have to be an NBA executive to see that coming, but I asked some, and they see it, too. The payroll is maxed out through next season, the tools for tax teams to acquire players in sign-and-trades next summer are gone and it's not like the Knicks can sell anyone on a fallback plan of reloading with a lottery pick in the coveted 2014 draft. The Knicks' pick goes to Denver (from the Anthony trade) or to Orlando (if it's worse than the Nuggets' pick).

"Where's the excitement?" one rival executive said this week. "They have no pick, and the excitement isn't coming from winning."

You can only sell success or hope in the NBA, and if the Knicks don't find a path to winning soon, they'll have neither when it comes time to convince Anthony to re-sign as a free agent next summer. But hope -- or the illusion of it -- can be manufactured. This is especially true when the next move on the chessboard could have been predicted when the Knicks sacrificed all their pieces for Anthony.

Since the Knicks doubled down on Anthony and his representatives with Creative Artists Agency, the organization has been reshaped in CAA's image. Woodson, assistant GM Allan Houston and player personnel director Mark Warkentien all are represented by the agency. In re-signing another CAA client this past summer, J.R. Smith, the Knicks threw his brother, Chris, a bone in the form of a guaranteed contract. Chris is now toiling in the D-League while taking up a roster spot at MSG.

This kind of quid pro quo happens all the time in the NBA; the agent business, you may have heard, is not the cleanest. Across the Brooklyn Bridge, agent Jeff Schwartz managed to get his client, Deron Williams, re-signed with the Nets while getting another client, Jason Kidd, hired as the head coach. Another Schwartz client, Paul Pierce, came aboard once Kidd convinced Kevin Garnett to waive his no-trade clause so the blockbuster trade with the Celtics could be consummated.

But the Knicks are all-in with CAA in ways that few of their rivals could even imagine. Days before training camp began, GM Glen Grunwald was pushed aside in favor of Steve Mills, who was brought back for a second tour of duty due to his institutional knowledge of the Garden and connections to the game's power brokers -- especially, William "World Wide Wes" Wesley, whose path to Garden influence was paved with the Anthony trade.

CAA, via Wesley, also represents a certain decorated college coach in Lexington, Ky. Given the path they've chosen, the Knicks can't get any of the NBA-ready players on Kentucky's roster, but they can get the coach -- and are perhaps the only team positioned to pay Calipari what it would take. One league executive surmised that the bidding would start at $8 million a year.

"That's what Wes will be pushing," one of the executives said. "That's what CAA will be pushing."

Executives differ on whether Calipari would want full personnel control in addition to the coaching title. "He wants full control, bottom line," one executive said. I agree with another exec who pointed out that, when it comes to the Knicks, it is understood that CAA has the power and that it would merely be channeled through Calipari. Either way, Calipari would instantly become the most powerful authority figure the Knicks have had since Isiah Thomas finally was run out of town. Somehow, that sounds just about right.

Never mind that Calipari's last NBA coaching job, in New Jersey, was a debacle that swept him away in a toxic wave of paranoia. This only makes him the ideal candidate to work for the Knicks.

The name of the game is to keep Melo happy, and in theory, it shouldn't take much. Anthony has the stage he wanted, the market he wanted, the complete run of what they still call the World's Most Famous Arena for reasons that have little to do with basketball. What more could he want?

To answer that, Anthony must look inward: Does he have what it takes to lift the Knicks out of their four-decade championship drought before his next contract becomes just another in a long line of burdens on the Garden's books? Is this where Anthony can finally elevate his own reputation as a great talent who could not fundamentally transform a franchise?

In the Knicks' tenuous state, a magnificent effort from Anthony wasn't enough to push them past a sleepwalking Pacers team on Wednesday night. What else could he have done? Anthony had 30 points, made all 10 of his free throws (and should have shot more) and pulled down 18 rebounds -- nine offensive. He was the best player on the floor until Paul George woke up in overtime.

"We've got to get out of it," Anthony said. "We've got to dig deep within ourselves and figure out how to dig ourselves out of this hole. We dug ourselves in the hole, now we've got to dig ourselves out."

Whether he realized it or not, Anthony's words were the ideal metaphor for an organization, a player and the unholy alliances that have followed him here.

With more to come.

GustavBahler wrote:

Executives differ on whether Calipari would want full personnel control in addition to the coaching title. "He wants full control, bottom line," one executive said. I agree with another exec who pointed out that, when it comes to the Knicks, it is understood that CAA has the power and that it would merely be channeled through Calipari.

If I ever stop buying league pass just to watch Knick games, it will be because of something like this. Even Calipari would have to run everything through CAA who puts their cut before any bball decision, like Dolan. As if Dolan was bad enough.

I'm reaching for straws but maybe the CAA connect isn't such a bad thing. They represent an increasingly talented clientèle, which could give us a leg up in free agency moving forward. I hate the idea of JC as coach but Woodson isn't anything to cry over.

NardDogNation wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:

Executives differ on whether Calipari would want full personnel control in addition to the coaching title. "He wants full control, bottom line," one executive said. I agree with another exec who pointed out that, when it comes to the Knicks, it is understood that CAA has the power and that it would merely be channeled through Calipari.

If I ever stop buying league pass just to watch Knick games, it will be because of something like this. Even Calipari would have to run everything through CAA who puts their cut before any bball decision, like Dolan. As if Dolan was bad enough.

I'm reaching for straws but maybe the CAA connect isn't such a bad thing. They represent an increasingly talented clientèle, which could give us a leg up in free agency moving forward. I hate the idea of JC as coach but Woodson isn't anything to cry over.

fishmike wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:

Executives differ on whether Calipari would want full personnel control in addition to the coaching title. "He wants full control, bottom line," one executive said. I agree with another exec who pointed out that, when it comes to the Knicks, it is understood that CAA has the power and that it would merely be channeled through Calipari.

If I ever stop buying league pass just to watch Knick games, it will be because of something like this. Even Calipari would have to run everything through CAA who puts their cut before any bball decision, like Dolan. As if Dolan was bad enough.

I'm reaching for straws but maybe the CAA connect isn't such a bad thing. They represent an increasingly talented clientèle, which could give us a leg up in free agency moving forward. I hate the idea of JC as coach but Woodson isn't anything to cry over.

bigstraw. CAA looks out for CAA clients. We need someone focused on building the Knicks for the right reasons. To compete for a title. We are a CAA retirement home at this point

Yes, you don't want an agency dumping all their players on your team, the purpose of a sports agent is to get the most for his client, not help out the team. Agents and GM's are at odds when it comes to free agency, they are not allies. Only dysfunctional franchises let agencies determine their personnel decisions for them.

martin wrote:Shouldn't the Knicks tell CAA: get us 2 more all-stars on team and then maybe we would consider Calipari?

Even then I wouldn't want him here. J.Calipari stopped Coaching a long time...we need a young creative, flexible coach with no gimmicks

fishmike wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:

Executives differ on whether Calipari would want full personnel control in addition to the coaching title. "He wants full control, bottom line," one executive said. I agree with another exec who pointed out that, when it comes to the Knicks, it is understood that CAA has the power and that it would merely be channeled through Calipari.

If I ever stop buying league pass just to watch Knick games, it will be because of something like this. Even Calipari would have to run everything through CAA who puts their cut before any bball decision, like Dolan. As if Dolan was bad enough.

I'm reaching for straws but maybe the CAA connect isn't such a bad thing. They represent an increasingly talented clientèle, which could give us a leg up in free agency moving forward. I hate the idea of JC as coach but Woodson isn't anything to cry over.

bigstraw. CAA looks out for CAA clients. We need someone focused on building the Knicks for the right reasons. To compete for a title. We are a CAA retirement home at this point

That remains to be seen. We got Carmelo Anthony at 26 years old. We got JR Smith at about the same age and at a fraction of the price. I don't see this having as many drawbacks as is being suggested.

NardDogNation wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:

Executives differ on whether Calipari would want full personnel control in addition to the coaching title. "He wants full control, bottom line," one executive said. I agree with another exec who pointed out that, when it comes to the Knicks, it is understood that CAA has the power and that it would merely be channeled through Calipari.

If I ever stop buying league pass just to watch Knick games, it will be because of something like this. Even Calipari would have to run everything through CAA who puts their cut before any bball decision, like Dolan. As if Dolan was bad enough.

I'm reaching for straws but maybe the CAA connect isn't such a bad thing. They represent an increasingly talented clientèle, which could give us a leg up in free agency moving forward. I hate the idea of JC as coach but Woodson isn't anything to cry over.

I worry about them pushing players on us we don't need or want because they somehow can't convince their top tier players to come to NY. If Calipari had a free hand, then yes I'd be all for it just to get all the suits out of decisions which should be made by experienced bball people.

If they have a cadre of talented players, it'd be much easier for them to head to New York in a package deal ala the Heat. We've been conditioned to think the worse when it comes to the Knicks but this might be a situation that we benefit from. It has already benefited us by allowing us to keep JR Smith on the cheap.

I see no benefit to a talent agency having this much sway over a team. They will always put their profits before anything having to do with a team's competitiveness. We got JR on the cheap in part because he crashed and burned in the playoffs, no one else was bidding from what I've read, and we agreed to take his no talent brother.

How sweet would that have been?

CrushAlot wrote:

misterearl wrote:People forget that Donnie Walsh had eyes for Mark Jackson

How sweet would that have been?

Yeah but I have always heard it was his call to go for D'Antoni. The first mistake of a mistake filled tenure for Walsh.

I still think that D'Antoni was one of the few good moves Walsh made. Mike had a reputation (mistakenly so) for getting the most out of his players, which was critical for a team that won only 19 games the year before. Given the facts and objectives, it was the right move to make; we just didn't follow through with it. I think it was clear though that D'Antoni would need to be replaced if we intended to compete for a title though.