Phil Jackson may well be as interested in what Carmelo Anthony can do off the court for the New York Knicks as he is anything he's capable of on the hardwood.
In the mind of the newly minted Knicks president of basketball of operations, the league's second overall scorer to MVP Kevin Durant can unquestionably aid the Knicks in attracting other top-tier talent to The Garden.
"I think it really helps," Jackson told ESPN of Anthony's star power. "I haven't been a major recruiter as a basketball coach. I've had players who could recruit by their talent, that's my great fortune. We didn't have to send out Michael Jordan to go out and recruit people. People wanted to play with him. Or Scottie Pippen. We didn't have to do that with Shaq and Kobe in those situations, and they're willing to do it."
The Knicks are expected to be heavy players in the free-agency game over the next several seasons and Jackson seems to think being able to retain Anthony could set the table for it all.
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"We have an opportunity in the next couple of years to get back in the hunt for free agents that are headline players," he said. "This year, not so. But we're going to make improvements on this team regardless. But next year and the year after, we think that we're going to have that opportunity. Can we get two players. Can we get two players instead of just one? Yeah, that's a possibility. The reality of how to do that involves Carmelo's compliance."
Anthony can make as much as $30 million more by signing a max deal with the Knicks, but at this point in his career has indicated money may no longer be the primary factor for him.
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