The New York Knicks are in full rebuild mode, as evidenced by their selection of foreign 7-footer Kristaps Porzingis with the No. 4 pick in Thursday night’s draft. Porzingis is a favorite among scouts, but he may not contribute immediately, and that has Carmelo Anthony quite cross.
"He doesn't understand it," a source said of Anthony’s thoughts on picking Porzingis. Anthony reportedly asked a close friend "are we supposed to wait two or three years for this guy?" The report also says Anthony feels “betrayed” by Knicks boss Phil Jackson because there appears to be no push to win now in the remaining years of Anthony’s prime.
Carmelo, according to source, called Tim Hardaway Jr. late Thursday to express his displeasure with Phil Jackson's draft night moves. Oh boy
— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) June 26, 2015
Carmelo feels Phil needs to make moves that can help immediately. "He said, 'we have to wait three years for this guy?'" Knick source claims — Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) June 26, 2015
Bottom line: Carmelo should have trusted his instincts in July & joined a contender. Phil should have trusted his instincts & let Melo walk
— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) June 26, 2015
The Knicks also traded away swingman Tim Hardaway Jr. to the Atlanta Hawks for Notre Dame point guard Jerian Grant.
Anthony is believed to be regretting his decision in free agency to stay in New York instead of leaving for a contender like the Chicago Bulls. Soon, there may be trade talks swirling around Madison Square Garden if Anthony’s fury won’t subside. The Los Angeles Lakers have a massive amount of cap room and are star-starved, while the Cleveland Cavaliers could be set to lose Kevin Love this offseason, and might want to replace him with another Team USA teammate of LeBron James.
Anthony has the most value of any current Knick by far, but Jackson is at least publicly unfazed by the rumors of Anthony’s unhappiness with the draft, and showing no signs of wanting to move on. "Carmelo's always on my mind. He's our favorite son,” Jackson said.
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