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Carmelo Anthony's career is at a crossroads - here's how his time with the Knicks has turned into one of the wildest shows in the NBA
Carmelo Anthony's career is at a crossroads - here's how his time with the Knicks has turned into one of the wildest shows in the NBA
Apr 19, 2017, 02:43 IST
Carmelo Anthony joined the Knicks in February 2011 by essentially forcing the Denver Nuggets to trade him.
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Anthony and Stoudemire did not click right away, and the Knicks went 14-14 after the trade, getting the sixth seed in the East.
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In the summer of 2011, the NBA had a lockout that lasted into November.
The Knicks' 2011-12 season got off to a rough start. Anthony, Stoudemire, and Chandler had no chemistry, and the team looked like a mess.
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LINSANITY! With Anthony and Stoudemire both injured, the Knicks turned to third-string point guard Jeremy Lin one random game, looking for some energy, never guessing what would happen next.
When Anthony returned to the court, he and Lin struggled to co-exist. Reports indicated Anthony was not a fan of the limelight Lin was taking from him.
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Amid another rough patch, a power struggle emerged between Anthony and head coach Mike D'Antoni.
In fact, Anthony had what some consider his signature moment with the Knicks during that stretch.
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However, the red-hot Knicks then ran into a superior Heat team in the playoffs and were dispatched in five games.
That offseason set up more Anthony-Lin drama. With Lin a free agent, many assumed the Knicks would re-sign him at all costs.
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Without Lin, the Knicks moved forward with a plan that included trading for Raymond Felton and signing veterans like Jason Kidd, Kurt Thomas, Marcus Camby and Rasheed Wallace.
Anthony's 2012-13 season even earned him some MVP votes.
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After beating the Celtics in the first round for their first postseason series win in 13 years, the Knicks ran into a stout Pacers team.
That offseason, things unraveled for the Knicks. Kidd, Thomas, Camby, and Wallace all retired or left the team.
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The Knicks struggled out of the gates and never recuperated.
After finishing 37-45, Jackson fired Mike Woodson and hired Derek Fisher, one of Jackson's former players, despite having no coaching experience.
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The Knicks struggled right away in the 2014-15 season, and soon turned to tanking.
After tanking, the Knicks made a franchise-changing call on draft night, picking a little-known, 7-foot-3, 20-year-old from Latvia named Kristaps Porzingis.
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Anthony and Porzingis clicked right away, and the Knicks got off to a solid 22-22 start. However, they hit a rough patch in January, losing 13 of 15 games, tumbling out of the playoff race.
Without a draft pick, Jackson made a sudden shift in the summer of 2016. He hired Jeff Hornacek as head coach, traded for Derrick Rose, and committed $132 million to Joakim Noah and Courtney Lee.
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Early into the season, despite the team playing fairly well, Jackson and Anthony began butting heads.
As the Knicks season spiraled downhill, trade rumors around Anthony began to swirl.
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Meanwhile, Jackson kept poking the bear. In February, Jackson responded to an article by Bleacher Report's Kevin Ding with an inscrutable tweet about knowing he can't change a leopard's spots.
The Knicks finished the season a game worse than 2015-16 at 31-51, despite on the on-paper improvements.
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Jackson only further fueled speculation during his season-ending press conference when he said Anthony "would be better off somewhere else."
Further fueling speculation about Anthony's future in New York was a TMZ report on Monday that said Anthony and his wife LaLa have split.
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It's unclear what Anthony intends to do.
Now, check out the teams that passed over Isaiah Thomas in the 2011 NBA Draft...