Carmelo Anthony, Phil Jackson Drama Discussed by NBPA Director Michele Roberts

Drama has engulfed the New York Knicks this season, and a fractured relationship between president Phil Jackson and forward Carmelo Anthony has been a major reason why. 

On Friday, National Basketball Players Association executive director Michele Roberts addressed the high-profile beef on ESPN Radio's The Dan Le Batard Show. She urged the two to meet after Jackson sent a string of tweets directed at his star player, according to the New York Times' Mike Vorkunov: 

The tweets were precipitated by a column from Bleacher Report's Kevin Ding, who discussed Jackson's inability to reach Anthony in the same way he reached greats like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant:

Jackson and Anthony have been at odds throughout the season, and they met face-to-face in January after FanRag Sports' Charley Rosen—a friend of Jackson's—wrote a piece declaring Anthony "has outlived his usefulness in New York."

According to ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne, Anthony told Jackson at the sit-down that he wanted to stay in New York and was not planning on waiving his no-trade clause. Nothing contrary to that has been reported since. 

Carmelo and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Month

On Wednesday, The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski reported, "Jackson’s public campaign to pressure Carmelo Anthony into waiving his no-trade clause is working to harden Anthony’s resolve to remain with the franchise."

Furthermore, a source told Wojnarowski that Jackson is "underestimating 'Melo's willingness to stay."

In other words, a few more episodes remain in New York's soap opera, assuming Anthony remains committed to the Knicks and Jackson continues to operate as the face of the front office.