Carmelo Anthony Comments on Free Agency, Triangle Offense, More

On the heels of a disappointing 2015-16 season, New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony discussed his expectations for the upcoming offseason and the 2016-17 campaign Tuesday night.

Prior to New York's season-closing loss to the Indiana Pacers, Melo discussed the importance of making some noise on the free-agent market, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post:

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Free agency is always going to be big for everybody. I looked at the list. I look at the list every day. Whether it's for me or other teams, I want to see what other guys are thinking about as far as trying to better their team. Where we fit in the free-agency market, those are things I pay close attention to.

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Anthony also made it clear that he wants to help in the courting of free agents after not being involved in the process last offseason. 

"I want to. They know that," he said. "Sometimes they can put you to the side and be front-office execs and let you be the player. I want to be a part of that. If I'm going to be a part of this organization and the future of this organization, I want to be part of the decision-making."

Anthony made it clear he was still proud to be part of the Knicks organization despite the disappointing season: 

Aside from the Knicks' need to improve, the triangle offense team president Phil Jackson installed remains a major topic of conversation.

While there is some belief that the system is archaic and can't work in the current NBA, Carmelo believes in signing and acquiring players who can be a great fit within the triangle, per Berman:

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We should look at players who can be part of that system. All good players can adapt to whatever system it is. I don't want players we go after to put too much into the actual thinking of the system. If you're a ballplayer, you're a ballplayer. You come to work, you play hard, you'll be part of what we have going on here. Just like any system, you have to learn.

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New York's head coaching position is up in the air after the firing of Derek Fisher followed by Kurt Rambis going 9-19 in an interim role.

Rambis was an assistant under Jackson with the Los Angeles Lakers and remains committed to running the triangle offense. When asked about it, Melo seemed to suggest that there has been more clarity regarding the system under Rambis than Fisher.

"I don't think it was expressed to us as players clearly from day one," he said. "I think it was different messages to the players about the actual triangle, to be honest. It was different messages out there from last year to this year. Then we finally got continuity, and everyone's on the same page."

The Knicks have some solid pieces in place, including Anthony, star rookie Kristaps Porzingis and supporting cast members such as Robin Lopez and Derrick Williams.

Improving upon a 32-50 record shouldn't be an unrealistic goal assuming they make some additions in free agency, figure out the head coaching situation and gain an even better understanding of the triangle.

It can be argued that Melo's best days may be behind him, but he still averaged nearly 22 points per game, and he is the unquestioned leader of the team.

Even though the past few years have undoubtedly been frustrating for Anthony and Knicks fans alike, his comments suggest that he is 100 percent focused on helping the Knicks return to prominence in the near future.  

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