Phil Jackson Says Carmelo Anthony Relationship Ended Knicks Tenure, Pushed for Trade

The Phil Jackson-Carmelo Anthony relationship during their time together with the New York Knicks deteriorated so much that the legendary coach made a strong push to get the superstar forward to waive his no-trade clause at one point.

Details of the fractured partnership between the two is discussed by Jackson in a new book Masters of the Game co-written by Jackson and Sam Smith that is described as a conversational history of the NBA in 75 legendary players.

Stefan Bondy of the New York Times highlighted the portion of the book dedicated to Anthony in which Jackson described his relationship with the then-Knicks star as "kind of busted" and said that if Anthony was "going to be here, it's probably best that I go."

Jackson also recalled a meeting he had with team governor James Dolan about how to pitch Anthony on a trade:

"I had this meeting with Dolan, I said, 'I don't want Carmelo back on the team; we've got to find a way to trade him.' I said, 'Let's sit with [Anthony's agent] Leon Rose and explain we're not going to win a championship. Carmelo wants a championship; he wants to be on a team that has a chance, and he should be; he's a Hall of Famer."

Jackson, who served as president of the Knicks from 2014 to '17, wasn't shy about criticizing Anthony when they were together in New York. He said in December 2016 that Anthony had "a little bit of a tendency" to hold onto the ball in ways that worked against the triangle-style offense he wanted the Knicks to utilize.

Within the same criticism, Jackson did say he felt Anthony could fit in the system the way that Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant did when he coached them.

"He can play that role that Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant played," Jackson said. "It's a perfect spot for him to be in that isolated position on the weak side, because it's an overload offense and there's a weakside man that always has an advantage if the ball is swung."

A few years later, Anthony explained his side by noting the triangle offense was an outdated style of play because of how the game evolved from the peak years of Jordan and Bryant:

"The game is getting faster. Guys are getting quicker. Guys are jumping out the gym. It's like, 'No, we can't slow it down when we got a fast break. We can't play in the two-guard front when we got Derrick Rose and Raymond Felton'—you can't do that. ... Again, we start slowing the game down. That's where you see guys wasn't comfortable in that situation, and I was one of them."

Anthony's tenure with the Knicks started off on a high note, as they made three consecutive playoff appearances from 2011 to '13. They would go on to have losing records in each of his last four seasons from 2013-14 to 2016-17, with Jackson overlapping for the final three years.

The 2014-15 Knicks set a franchise record for losses in a season (17-65). The mark has since been matched by the 2018-19 team.

Both Jackson and Anthony left New York around the same time. Jackson and the Knicks mutually parted ways in June 2017. Anthony waived his no-trade clause to accept a deal to the Oklahoma City Thunder in September 2017.