Knicks fans are used to more than their fair share of dysfunction, but yesterday was like a return to the bizarro days at MSG: Wednesday started with reports that Carmelo Anthony wanted to be traded amidst the team's recent free fall—then Coach Mike D'Antoni unexpectedly resigned—and then the team blew out the Portland Trail Blazers by 42. Today, everyone is trying to catch their breath and get some perspective on D'Antoni's surprise resignation. And it seems harder and harder to ignore the fact that Carmelo was the major factor leading to D'Antoni's decision: “I know he tried to implement a certain system. And everyone wasn’t buying into it, so he may have been a little frustrated so he felt stepping down was the best way for him," Amare Stoudemire said, not so subtly alluding to Anthony.
By all accounts, D'Antoni (and former team president Donnie Walsh) never wanted Knicks owner James Dolan to trade half the team to the Denver Nuggets for Melo in the first place. The Knicks have struggled mightily ever since, with Anthony seemingly unable or unwilling to play in D'Antoni's uptempo, point guard-oriented system. Having lost six of their last eight, D'Antoni requested a meeting with Dolan yesterday morning—and he asked him whether he would be willing to trade Carmelo before Thursday's deadline.
According to TNT’s David Aldridge, D'Antoni had been advocating for the team to trade Anthony to the NJ Nets for guard Deron Williams, a deal D’Antoni believed would be beneficial for both franchises. When Dolan said no, D'Antoni offered his resignation: “He basically said he didn’t see how he could coach them to success the way it was right now,” a source told the Times, adding, “He didn’t want to get beat up for the next two months or see Melo get beat up for the next two months.”
After last night's win, Anthony addressed the media about the rumors: “It’s an unfortunate situation. There’s no bad blood between myself, Mike D’Antoni, the guys on the team or anything like that. We respect his decision. He said he did what was best for the team at this point in time right now.” Asked if he was to blame for D’Antoni’s resignation, Anthony said: “It is what it is when it comes to that. That’s something I can’t control as far as the blame they put on me.”
It may not just have been Carmelo though: according to Buzzfeed, a few players have been "trying to fire the coach" for a while now," including point guard Baron Davis. That source describes this as a coup: "They can do that." ESPN's Stephen A. Smith doesn't totally buy that—he thinks D'Antoni only has his own stubbornness to blame: "D'Antoni's insatiable appetite for small ball was so addictive, he felt no compunction about minimizing the impact of two stars owed more than $168 million combined in favor of a point guard making less than $1 million. In favor of a system that allowed unknowns to jack up one 3-pointer after another, barely running an offense in the process."
Even if you acknowledge D'Antoni's narrow offensive philosophy, Stoudemire's battered body, the lack of a constant rotation, the glare of the NYC media, the draining schedule, and all the other factors involved with the Knicks' woes this season, Carmelo is still supposed to be leading this team to victories—and as anyone who watched the Knicks during those weeks of Linsanity in February can attest, the team has looked happier, looser and more unified when he hasn't been on the court. Grantland's Brian Koppelman sums it up: "Carmelo has now taken all of that positive energy and joy and he’s wrecked it. Because that’s what he is, a joy wrecker. Just ask the guys on the Nuggets if they like it better now or when he was their 'leader.'"
