Carmelo Anthony Says He'll Likely Be out for Season After 2015 All-Star Game

Given his current health status, most NBA fans wondered how long Carmelo Anthony would continue to play after the 2015 All-Star Game. They may have gotten their answer Thursday.

The New York Knicks star revealed on ESPN Radio with Marc Stein, Marc Kestecher and P.J. Carlesimo, via ESPN.com's Ian Begley, that he could sit out for the rest of the season once the All-Star festivities wind down in New York.

"It's very likely. It's very likely. Now I've got to start thinking about the future," Anthony said. "This season is this season. So I really want to just sit down with my team and sit down with the proper people to just kind of plan this thing out and see exactly what I have to do to get done and just to fix it."

On Friday, Feb. 13,  Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv reported that Anthony is still undecided, also adding a quote from Anthony saying, "I'm going to see, I'm going to try. We have a whole week to figure that out.''

Nobody would be surprised to see Anthony shut it down. He hinted earlier in the week that he may call it a season early in order to rest his knee, per Al Iannazzone of Newsday:

Plus, it's not like his team's chances would be radically altered either way. With or without their best player, the Knicks aren't going anywhere this season, even in the Eastern Conference. New York has the worst record in the league (10-43) heading into the All-Star break.

Losing Melo, however, would only make Knicks games more unbearable:

Having Anthony rest now is arguably the best decision for both parties. He can rehab the knee so that it isn't an issue when the 2015-16 season begins, at which time New York should be better positioned for a playoff push.

The Knicks would be dreadful in Anthony's absence, but at least the franchise would have a long-term plan in mind.