LOS ANGELES — With the sun beating down in California, Carmelo Anthony happily shed his fur hat and coat and settled in for a few days at what has become his second home. And maybe wondered if it might be time to take up permanent residence here.Anthony, who has a home here and a good friend in Clippers star Chris Paul, sounded more and more open to the possibilities that could present themselves as he winds down another disappointing season. While Paul readies for another playoff run, Anthony and the Knicks, in town for the start of a four-game road trip, are running out the string on a fourth straight season bound for the lottery.
“It makes you want to think about what’s next or what could be next, just thinking about those situations,” said Anthony, recalling the times that he was a part of the postseason, making it his first 10 years in the NBA before the Knicks stumbled into oblivion. “I always think about the times that I’ve had in the postseason, the games and experiences that I’ve had with teams. Players, the way that you’ve got to prepare for that. I think about that all the time.”
And does he wonder if it will ever happen with the Knicks after all of the rebuilds orchestrated by Phil Jackson - the latest one expected to build a contender with veteran talent brought in?
“Honestly, I think about it a lot,” Anthony said. “I try to put everything into perspective. I think about it. I think about (New York). I think postseason. I think about my teammates. I just think about everything. It’s not just one specific thing that I think about. I think about it a lot. I try to put everything into perspective. I try to hear other people’s advice, other people’s take on it. But at the end of the day it’s on me.”
It has been on Anthony really for years, since Jackson signed him to a five-year, $124.9 million contract that included one of the few no-trade clauses granted to NBA players. As the Knicks struggles have mounted, Jackson has poked and prodded at Anthony, moves that the Knicks’ star believes are designed to try to get him to waive the clause.
At the deadline this season Anthony could have considered deals to possibly join one of friends - Paul, or perhaps LeBron James in Cleveland - and be a part of the championship chase. But he seemed to dig his heels in and resist the efforts of Jackson, who he said never brought him a deal.
“No, no, no. Don’t start,” Anthony said when asked if he was thinking about joining the Clippers. “I haven’t thought about it. There was an opportunity during the deadline. There was always talk the past couple of seasons with me somehow being connected whether it was the Clippers or Lakers. I’ve somehow always been connected. At first it was the Lakers and now it’s the Clippers situation. So I try not to think about that, especially now when I’m still playing with the New York Knicks and got to go out there and prepare to play against these guys.”
Anthony did say that he has learned to love L.A., living here for seven years now.
“Yeah, I think sometimes you need to get into a new environment and feel a different type of energy and vibe and I think that’s what it’s been for us the past couple of days,” he said. “I’ve grown - over the years I’ve grown to like it. I think as you get older you start looking for places where you can kind of relax and enjoy it, you know, the family can be good. I think over the years this is, L.A. has been the place where my family feels comfortable at.”
Still, Anthony has come to the realization that his long-time insistence on finishing his career in New York just might not be realistic.
“Yeah, I think as players we always, even when I was back in Denver, I was like, ‘Man, I’m never leaving here,’” Anthony said. “You know, I want to be that guy that plays on one team for the rest of his career. But the way that the game is, the way that the business is, I think it’s highly impossible to accomplish that and the guys that do accomplish that, you know, you’ve got to take your hat off to them. A lot of things have to fall into place for that to happen.”
A quirk of the NBA schedule-makers brought not just Anthony and Paul to meet in Los Angeles, but also brought James, who was in town for four days with games against the Lakers and Clippers before heading up to Golden State.
So a chance for a summit meeting of super friends plotting the course to join forces as they have talked about in the past?
“No, unfortunately no,” he said with a smile. “We didn’t get a chance to meet up and talk like we wanted to talk - about the weather. We play tonight and we leave tonight. So no, we didn’t get a chance. Everybody’s schedule is kind of hectic. Even though everybody’s here it’s still a little hectic.”
3/20/2017 4:08 PM