Carmelo Anthony clearly isn’t himself these days and you didn’t need the uncontested air ball with four minutes left in another failed comeback bid to tell you that.

Anthony’s surgically repaired left knee has already cost him seven games this season while robbing him of a quick first step and any explosiveness at the rim. The Knicks have copped to giving Anthony one MRI but according to a team source, Anthony has had two MRIs in the past three weeks so the concern over his long-term health is very real.

“Today, it wasn’t that sore,” Anthony said. “I think the couple of days off helped.”

Anthony is entering the Patrick Ewing phase of his career; he’ll have to learn to live with knee pain and adjust his game accordingly. This is the deal when you’re 31 years old and have logged over 32,000 minutes......

http://m.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/isola-fisher-feeling-heat-not-so-young-knicks-flounder-article-1.2523721

nyknickzingis wrote:Melo would waive his NTC if you traded him to a place of his liking. A team that is in the playoffs and a situation where he'd be able to compete for a title for the next 2 years. As much as he likes NY he won't choose to stay on a re-building team that is 2 years away if he can jump on a playoff team right away. The whole difference in free agency in 2014 was that Chicago didn't have the money to straight up sign him to a maximum. He also loved the Lakers presentation, but the Lakers are far worse than the Knicks even. In staying with the Knicks, he has the money he wanted and he can now get to a team that can give him what he saw in Chicago in 2014.

I don't think it's impossible to trade him,but it won't be easy. He'll have a short list, and of those teams they know that NY can only trade him a few specific places and the market will not be strong.

If it does ever come to a trade, I can see a trade with Chicago. McDermott, Mirotcic and Noah come to my mind. Noah is someone that gives us more capspace immediately. All 3 actually fit the Triangle pretty well, and McDermott/Mirotcic are young players that can become better. Chicago gets a core of Pau, Gibson, Melo, Butler and Rose together. Not a good trade for the immediate Knicks present though. Trading an all-star for no stars. But NY has to think about this, because it won't get better with Melo in terms of his physical decline. It'll only get worse.

However I wouldn't hate this team next year. If we can shed some salary with a Melo trade, Knicks could sign both Batum and Conley, possibly.

Rotation:
Lopez/Porzingis
Porzingis/Mirotcic
Batum/Thomas
McDermott/Galloway
Conley/Calderon/Grant

That's a playoff team in the East, and young with the ability to keep getting better as the core players aren't old, they are on their way up or in their prime.

Neither Conley or Batum are coming to the Knicks without Melo but I like the general premise of your Bulls deal. If you add Bobby Portis and Tony Snell, I'd make the trade (and still would if the Bulls likely force us to take Derrick Rose instead of Joakim Noah's expirer). I'd just simply build with the young'uns and call it a day. Those players, in and of themselves, would make us a borderline playoff team....

STARTERS
PG: Derrick Rose
SG: Aaron Afflalo
SF: Doug McDermott
PF: Kristaps Porzingis
C: Robin Lopez

ROTATION
G: Jerian Grant/Langston Galloway
SG: Tony Snell
F: Nikola Mirotic
F/C: Bobby Portis

...and the Bulls would likely have the cap space to add Mike Conley to their mix, which would be extremely enticing.

The only problem though is that they are no longer legitimate title contenders without Tom Thibedeou and I doubt Melo goes to play for a neophyte/rookie head coach in Fred Hoiberg.

NardDogNation wrote:It's an Isola article, so there is that....but it is grounded in fact. What he describes is a major reason why I've been a proponent of rebuilding. The reality is that we've squared too much of our success on Melo's back since he's come here and the physical toll of it has worn his body down. We aren't quite at the point we were with Allan Houston at the same stage of his career but I do feel we are getting pretty close. As a result, I'd do everything humanly possible to convince Melo to waive his NTC and move him either to MIA or LAC, where we could get the best return for him and he could join a contender. Teams like that would be better equipped to better rest him and prolong his remarkable career.

Its a concept I'd be curious to know what the team considers as being valid and how it has been addressed. I have no doubt Melo enjoys playing in NY and wants to make it work. He had the leverage to get his contract but he also did the tour as a free agent. He holds the cards.

His play this year has been great and he really has tried to be the leader on the court and move without the ball. He got this team to .500 and took KP under his wing.
If this is as good at it gets and we can't attract a top tier free agent this off season then its to consider what can be had for. Melo with his clause has to be on board and the reality is Allstars with max deals get that cred and consideration. He has a say in where and how he goes.

Getting value in return, that's another story. Phil's legacy won't be a championship but if the team stays the course it will be him setting the franchise back in the right direction and this still takes time.
Patience is not a choice, its reality. For fans, its not settling, its what it is.