Carmelo Anthony is likely to make at least a short appearance in the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday at the New York Knicks' home court of Madison Square Garden, but everything after that is up in the air.
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Anthony said that it is "very likely" that he will shut it down for the remainder of the Knicks lost 2014-15 campaign in the second half.
Anthony has been dealing with soreness in his left knee for months and aggravated the injury in Monday's loss to the Miami Heat and then sat out Wednesday's game against the Orlando Magic, which the team dropped 89-83.
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"It's very likely. It's very likely," Anthony told ESPN about shutting down his season. "Now I've got to start thinking about the future. This season is this season. So I really want to just sit down with my team and sit down with the proper people to just kind of plan this thing out and see exactly what I have to do to get done and just to fix it."
Despite his injury, Anthony wants to appear in his eighth All-Star game in front of his hometown fans that helped vote him in as an Eastern Conference starter for Sunday's game.
"Even if I come out and just play a couple minutes and just wave," Anthony said. "I don't think the fans deserve [seeing me miss the game]. They voted me in for a reason, so at least I can show them that I appreciate that by just participating in the game."
Anthony, the Knicks leading scorer, said if he needs to surgically repair the knee injury, he'd like to get it done "right away" to avoid missing any of his offseason workouts.
The Knicks have limited Anthony's minutes and schedule to protect him this season, but much like the Los Angeles Lakers discovered with Kobe Bryant, sometimes season-ending injuries are inevitable. Anthony said that he was "frustrated" with being "restricted" by the ailment as well.
If Anthony is out for the rest of the season, it doesn't mean that he won't take an active role by helping the team recruit free agents for next year.
The Knicks entered the All-Star break at 10-43 with the worst record in the NBA. President Phil Jackson is looking to turn the franchise around this offseason through the draft and free agency as the Knicks have a great potential of getting the first overall pick.
Anthony said he will do his part to help, but it's also up to the front office to turn things around.
"The fate is in the front office now," he said. "As players the only thing we can do is go out and try to compete on a nightly basis and try to get wins and try to get better. But I think the onus is on the front office and they've got a task ahead of them to start building for now and for the future."
Fans can catch what may be their final glimpse of Anthony on the court this season when the Eastern Conference battles the Western Conference in the 2015 NBA All-Star Game at 8:30 p.m. ET this Sunday at Madison Square Garden.
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