Carmelo Anthony's loyalty to the New York Knicks and their vision for the future hasn't always been apparent since he signed a five-year contract to remain in the Big Apple in 2014, but Melo recently stood behind his club on social media.
According to ESPN.com's Ian Begley, the 31-year-old veteran took exception to a fan questioning his desire to play for the Knicks on Instagram:
Shows how little you know about me. Staying in NY shows that I do care. If I would have left, what would you have said then? 'Oh, Melo's wack for leaving. He turned his back on NY.' FOH. You are stuck with me buddy. Deal with it. If you want me gone, I'll personally walk you into the front office so you can plead your case of the Knicks trading me. Hope you have bail money bc they might have you arrested for Disturbing the Peace.
Anthony, who is working his way back from a knee injury that cut his 2014-15 season short, has been in the news often this offseason. It was initially reported that he was unhappy with the Knicks' decision to select Kristaps Porzingis in the first round of the 2015 NBA draft, but he later squashed those rumors.
New York needs a happy and healthy Melo in order to turn things around in 2015-16, and newly signed guard Arron Afflalo firmly believes the Knicks will have just that, per Al Iannazzone of Newsday: "From our conversations, yeah (Melo's optimistic). I don't like speaking for somebody. But from our conversations and the way he's working in the gym, I would say so. ... He's very committed. He seems very, very, very hungry to succeed. And we'll see. It'll be here shortly."
The eight-time NBA All-Star was averaging over 24 points per game in his first season as part of the triangle offense before being placed on the shelf last year, and he did that without much support around him.
New York may still have a difficult time making the playoffs, but with the likes of Afflalo, Robin Lopez, Jerian Grant, Porzingis and others now providing support, Melo should be in better position to shine moving forward.
It will likely still take some time before the Knicks return to contention, but Anthony has made it clear he believes in where the Knicks are heading, which has to be music to team president Phil Jackson's ears.
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Source: Mike Chiari http://ift.tt/1ICHHa9
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