Melo: 'Have to trust in Phil' in wake of Fisher firing
NEW YORK — Carmelo Anthony says he has no plans to seek a trade and remains committed to Knicks president Phil Jackson in the wake of Derek Fisher’s dismissal as head coach.
“This is something I didn’t see coming, [that] nobody saw coming,” Anthony said. “So you have to continue to put your trust into Phil. At this point, what could you do? Can’t shy away from that. Can’t go against it. So for me, it’s continue. I have to trust in it. I decided to stay here, I decided to make that decision to trust in the Knicks and trust in Phil. I have to continue doing that.”
Fisher was fired on Monday following a 23-31 start in his second season with the Knicks. He was replaced on an interim basis by Kurt Rambis. Rambis is the fourth Knicks coach Anthony has played for in his five seasons in New York.
Anthony said on Tuesday that he has become “immune” to the constant changes in New York and is committed to remaining with the organization. He has three years remaining on his contract, which includes a no-trade clause.
“Yeah, I mean, I done been through worse. I done been through worse,” Anthony said. “At this point you become kind of immune to all the B.S. that goes on and the politics. You become immune to that. So my goal is to continue playing basketball, focus on the group of guys that I have in there and leave that faith to management, to the front office.”
Anthony said he “respected” Fisher for taking on the challenge of coaching the Knicks as a first-year coach directly after retiring as a player.
“It was a new experience for him,” Anthony said. “I’m pretty sure, me knowing him, he will learn from this experience and he will be on somebody else’s sideline pretty soon, if that’s what he wants.”
Rambis has said several times over the past two days that his goal is to lead the Knicks into the playoffs. Fisher caused a bit of a stir among the Knicks’ fan base when he said late last month that he wouldn’t be disappointed if the team didn’t make the playoffs.
Anthony said Tuesday he was on board with Rambis’ goal.
“Yeah, I don’t think that’s even a question for me as far as playoffs,” Anthony said. “My goal every season is to try to get to the playoffs and try to win a championship, so I think Kurt is spot-on when he says that. That should be our goal as a team. It was our goal. It should be our goal now, remain our goal.”
The Knicks have lost nine of 10 games entering Tuesday’s home contest against the Washington Wizards. The club entered Tuesday 4½ games behind the Indiana Pacers for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
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