Knicks News: Latest on Carmelo Anthony, Phil Jackson and Kristaps Porzingis

They'll make you jump for joy, yelp with pain or simply laugh. Ladies and gentlemen, the New York Knicks.

After a total embarrassment of a season in 2014-15, the 'Bockers seem to be trending in the right direction. Team president Phil Jackson picked up a potential star in Kristaps Porzingis at the draft and also signed a slew of a respectable role players to surround Carmelo Anthony with.

But rumor has it that not all is well between the ol' Zen Master and No. 7.

Let's begin with some wise words from a wise man.

Kenyon Martin Has Melo's Back

Frank Franklin II/Associated Press

Kenyon Martin never did have much of a bedside manner.

The loud-talking, high-flying big man was never one to shy away from the media throughout his impressive career. Since retiring, not much has changed.

K-Mart, who spent just one of his 19 professional seasons in New York, recently offered some pretty strong support for Anthony, a former teammate with both the Denver Nuggets and Knicks.

"I feel bad for him," Martin said of Anthony, per ESPN.com's Ohm Youngmisuk. "He cares and wants to win, and to be put in a situation like that with that kind of talent, he don't deserve to be a part of a rebuilding process by any stretch of the imagination."

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

The Knicks finished with an ungodly 17 wins as Anthony limped to the All-Star Game and then shut it down for the rest of the season. Jackson traded J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and, later on, Tim Hardaway Jr. In his decision to reload with Robin Lopez, Arron Afflalo and Kyle O'Quinn, Jackson began a new day in the Big Apple.

Throw in Porzingis and fellow first-rounder Jerian Grant, and the Knicks aren't looking too bad after all, huh?

Don't speak too soon. Anthony, a 31-year-old with a ton of miles on him, isn't going to last forever. And as Martin implied, participating in a total rebuild isn't ideal for Melo.

Maybe he won't be around all that long, though.

Anthony and Phil Jackson Not Speaking

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There it is—that Knicks feeling.

Fans probably forget what it felt like as they came around on all of the team's new pieces, plus a blossoming Zinger. But that feeling—that pit in your stomach—is back.

With a vengeance.

According to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, Anthony and Jackson aren't even talking to one another:

"

Maybe the sports book at Caesars Palace will take action on a new prop bet: Who will last longer at Madison Square Garden, Melo or Zen? One will surely be gone by this time next year, if not sooner.

We've come a long way in 12 months, haven't we? Last year, Jackson boarded [Knicks owner] Jim Dolan's private jet and raced cross country to Los Angeles with a max contract and a recruiting pitch about adding more talent. This year, Jackson won't even pick up the phone to contact his All-Star forward.

If Jackson did dial Anthony's number, Anthony is ignoring the calls from his boss. All we know for sure is that Dolan's two highest-paid employees haven't spoken since the start of free agency, and now the high-stakes game of chicken has begun.

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Great. That's just what the Knicks needed—a standoff between the two most important pieces of this entire puzzle.

Marc Berman of the New York Post sang a bit of a different tune, however, after Jackson made heavily team-oriented comments this week. Here's what Berman wrote:

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Carmelo Anthony is good with Phil Jackson...for now.

Knicks officials have been in contact with Anthony in the last 24 hours and got a strong sense he has been bothered by rumors about his disillusionment with Jackson's free-agent haul. Anthony made it clear he still "trusts Phil" and is trying to enjoy a vacation before ramping up his summer rehab training.

"

Isola isn't buying it:

There's a whole bowl of bad brewing here, and it comes at a time when Knicks fans were just now beginning to show their faces in public again.

Zinger to the Rescue?

Julie Jacobson/Associated Press

The first thing Porzingis heard after commissioner Adam Silver called his name on June 25 was an absolute downpour of boos from Knicks fans at Brooklyn's Barclays Center.

Undeterred, the 19-year-old vowed to "do everything that's in my hands to turn those booing fans into clapping fans."

In just a handful of games at the Las Vegas Summer League, the Latvian is doing just that.

Playing just a hair under 20 minutes an outing, Porzingis is averaging 10 points (60 percent shooting), three rebounds, an assist and two blocks per game.

The numbers aren't jaw-dropping, but the potential he's flashing is. Bite your tongue if you're already writing him off.

"I surprised people who had never seen me play before," Porzingis said after an overtime win on Wednesday, per Berman. "They thought the skinny guy from overseas can't play. I haven't had a great game yet. I'm playing OK, playing hard. Fans appreciate that and cheer for me."

Star. Power.

In each game he's played, the Zinger has showcased a different ability, whether it be his outside touch or physical presence. The latter impressed Mike Schmitz, a scout for DraftExpress:

Most impressive of all was the 7'3" forward's trio of blocks on No. 3 pick Jahlil Okafor of the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday. Porzingis didn't swat the air out of the ball, but he harassed the former Dukie enough that he asked out of the game down the stretch.

As Jackson continues to deal with Anthony, he can take pleasure in knowing that the kid who could eventually replace Melo as New York's superstar is looking the part this summer.