New York Knicks: Meet Carmelo Anthony, an Agent of Chaos

Be careful what you wish for, Carmelo.

Mike D'Antoni is out as head coach of the New York Knicks, and with him goes Carmelo Anthony's final safety net.

The relationship between D'Antoni and Anthony has been scrutinized for quite some time, and despite Anthony stating the contrary, make no mistake that this is what he wanted. 

Anthony now has the luxury of playing under interim head coach Mike Woodson, a known endorser of iso-oriented play styles.

Before the small forward engages in a victory lap around hardwood though, he must remember that he has to exercise extreme caution from here on out. D'Antoni may be gone, but so is Anthony's last excuse.

As long as D'Antoni was the head coach of the Knicks, Anthony could chalk up his, and the rest of the team's, struggles to systematic issues. D'Antoni was asking Anthony to space the floor, something he has not been asked to for nearly a decade.

But what happens if New York continues to lose with Woodson at the helm. There will undoubtedly be some kind of a grace period, but with Anthony assuming his natural role, it's bound to be short.

Anthony has spent the better part of this year attempting to prove that he is not cancerous to his team. With D'Antoni out, this is the perfect opportunity to prove himself, yet it's also his last.

Letting D'Antoni walk officially put the Knicks all-in on Anthony, and put Anthony all-in on his reputation. He's officially in the market he craved, with the supporting cast he's always lacked, playing the type of basketball he advocates.

While this seems like a recipe for success—and don't misinterpret a beat down of a lowly Blazers for success—keep in mind the D'Antoni-less Knicks still have a plethora of D'Antoni supporters, the most notable of which is Amar'e Stoudemire.

D'Antoni molded Stoudemire into the powerhouse he is—or rather should be—today. Not to mention that it was he, Stoudemire, who boarded the train to New York first. It was him who revived the franchise. It was him who endorsed the acquisition of Anthony.

And now its him watching Anthony's presence dismantle everything he knows.

The uncertainty that was Anthony's ability to acclimate himself to D'Antoni's system now shifts to Stoudemire.

How will he fair in a slower paced, Anthony-dominated offense? More importantly, how motivated is he to help the player who is essentially raining on his parade?

Stoudemire's will should never be questioned. He's as hard a worker as they come, but his, and the rest of the team's, relationship to Anthony is now overwhelmingly one-sided.

Knicks owner James Dolan has put Anthony above all else for over a year now. He mortgaged the team's future on the forward. He ignored D'Antoni's plea for a potential Deron Williams-Anthony swap.

And now, by allowing D'Antoni to leave, has opted to place the blame for New York's struggles upon a coach who saw a dozen different rosters in less than four years, instead of a player who clearly disrupted a winning formula, who didn't understand the difference between running the offense through a point guard and allowing a point guard to run the offense.

D'Antoni is far from perfect, but he became the scapegoat for a cumulative slew of imperfection.

Where does that leave the Knicks?

With Anthony, who has officially exhausted all fathomable excuses, in the driver's seat of a potentially runaway team.

And there's no turning back.

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