For Kristaps Porzingis' Sake, NY Knicks Shouldn't Trade Carmelo Anthony
Lost somewhere between the search for a new head coach and questions surrounding the methods and motives of team president Phil Jackson is the status of Carmelo Anthony's future with the New York Knicks.
Assuming he has one.
It's no surprise this discussion has quietly fallen by the wayside of late. More pressing matters have needed tending since the end of the season. And the impending free-agency period offers hope, however slight, that New York can bridge the canyon separating Anthony's prime from its intended relevance.
Plus, as the owner of a no-trade clause on a five-year contract that spans through 2018-19 (with an early termination option after 2017-18 season), Anthony enjoys unique control over his whereabouts. And it's difficult to see him parlaying his leverage into new digs anytime soon when he's still saying things like this, per the Wall Street Journal's Chris Herring:
Any lingering doubt about the Knicks' own allegiances is excised—or, perhaps, can be ignored—when Jackson himself hasn't bent to speculation:
Still, the uncertainty is there, even if it's not as frequently recognized. Anthony is now 32 and headlines a team that is further away from contending than the day he arrived. He's also playing for a new head honcho, Jeff Hornacek, who figures to implement an uptempo offense that may demand he undergo yet another late-career evolution.
Despite an open desire to be involved with Jackson's coaching search, Anthony received no such consult. The same thing happened last summer during New York's free-agency pursuits. And while Jackson has never wholly downplayed Anthony's importance, he has danced around the concept.
“Some of our best games we played were when Carmelo didn’t play and we didn’t win but we had great games,” Jackson said in April, per the New York Daily News' Stefan Bondy. “Oklahoma, I could maybe name four games that we probably should have won and short of the thing that Carmelo can help you, we didn’t have but we played better as a basketball club and in some strange ways...”
At best, the Knicks appear indifferent to the preferences of their lone superstar. At worst, they're casually trying to escort him toward the exit. But for all the reasons they have to move Anthony, the Knicks have every incentive to keep him around—one to be exact. And it's the only one that matters.
His name is Kristaps Porzingis.
“Obviously I want him to stay here," Porzingis told Bondy. "We need him. I need him."
Anthony has become crucial to the Rookie of the Year runner-up's development, assuming a role many thought him unfit to play: mentor.
For most of the season, he could be seen standing alongside Porzingis, by design, during pregame national anthems. By the end of 2015-16, with the Knicks playing for nothing of importance, and Porzingis not playing at all, Anthony was routinely found offering instructions to his rookie running mate, according to Ian Begley of ESPN.com.
Porzingis' exposure to Anthony, an established superstar, is not something the Knicks should take for granted. Most high-profile kiddies don't have it. Teams either stock the roster with ebbing veterans (Kevin Garnett in Minnesota) or ask their burgeoning cornerstones to go at it alone (every top pick in Philadelphia).
In the rare instances a partnership between present-day All-Star and successor in waiting does exist, its triumph is not guaranteed. LaMarcus Aldridge never meshed with Damian Lillard. The Cleveland Cavaliers traded Andrew Wiggins before he ever lined up beside LeBron James.
Anthony has been far more accepting of Porzingis and the Knicks' rebuild in general, despite initial reports to the contrary. His choices have not always made sense; the decision to force his way into New York still looms as a franchise detriment. But Anthony remains loyal to the Knicks and Porzingis, arguably to a fault. And in keeping him, New York gives its most important building block, Porzingis, an invaluable resource.
Alongside Anthony, Porzingis can grow as a secondary option, progressing into the focal point for opposing defenses gradually, naturally, rather than abruptly. As long as Anthony is in town, Porzingis is shielded against the off-court responsibility that accompanies franchise poster boys.
Anthony, not Porzingis, will bear the burden of winning and losing. Anthony, not Porzingis, will have to maintain locker room stability.
It doesn't matter if Porzingis can succeed in trial by fire. This way is better—infinitely so when it's clear Anthony only speeds up the torch-passing process.
“You talk about starting over, developing a young team around Porzingis, but one of the things that’s always overlooked about player development is playing meaningful games,” former Knicks coach and current ESPN NBA analyst Jeff Van Gundy told the New York Times' Harvey Araton. “Even if you don’t make the playoffs, what’s essential for guys like Porzingis is to be playing in games that count, instead of just playing out a season like they did this year.”
Contending for a playoff berth, even if unsuccessfully, is much easier with Anthony in the fold. He makes New York a more attractive free-agent destination as a superstar ambassador and, more importantly, has developed an on-court connection with Porzingis.
During the 1,500-plus minutes these two spent on the floor together, the Knicks outpaced opponents by nearly one point per 100 possessions. Of their 10 other two-man pairings to clear 950 minutes of action, not one finished the season as a net positive.
Though Anthony notched a better net rating with Lance Thomas (plus-7.5) and Sasha Vujacic (plus-3.2) in substantial playing time, none of Porzingis' other unions matched his performance with Anthony. He posted higher net ratings with Cleanthony Early (plus-1.7), Kevin Seraphin (plus-3.1) and Vujacic (plus-4.2) but failed to play even 400 total minutes with any of them.
| KP without Melo | 100.7 | 104.0 | -3.4 |
| Melo without KP | 105.3 | 108.4 | -3.1 |
| Melo and KP together | 104.9 | 104.1 | 0.9 |
More than 16 percent of Porzingis' buckets came off assists from Anthony. Only Jose Calderon lent a helping hand on more of the rookie's baskets.
Most of Porzingis' shooting percentages dipped with Anthony in the game, and he shot 41.2 percent off No. 7's passes overall. But the newbie struggled with his offensive efficiency all year. The shot-making component of this alliance will come with time.
Besides, a greater percentage of Porzingis' opportunities came within five feet of the hoop when the duo played together. And the defensive attention he drew around that area helped improve Anthony's quality of looks from downtown:
That makes this a mutually beneficial partnership, one New York cannot yet afford to dissolve.
The Knicks still need a point guard who collapses defenses and puts Porzingis in the right spots. More than 67 percent of his baskets came off assists. Anthony is the only player on the roster even suited to play that part. He just recorded the highest assist percentage of his career and will be an even bigger help to Porzingis as Hornacek infuses more pick-and-rolls into the offense, per Herring:
Never mind that Anthony needs Porzingis to salvage any chance he has of chasing titles with the Knicks. Porzingis needs Anthony, not just to maximize the present, but to better shape his future—the one that, ultimately, won't include the scapegoat-turned-mentor.
Inevitably, Anthony's future in New York will crawl back into speculation factories and rumor mills. It could be this summer, if the Knicks fail to land enough, or any, marquee free agents. It could be during the season, ahead of the trade deadline, if the team has fallen out of playoff contention.
The Knicks, it will go, could improve their draft positioning by trading Anthony, even with his no-trade clause. They could net a haul of picks and prospects. They could open up additional cap space for the summer of 2017.
The temptation to start—or continue—steering him out the door will be there. And New York, at least for the time being, must resist it.
Porzingis needs Anthony that much. And by association, so do the Knicks.
Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com, unless otherwise cited. Salary information via Basketball Insiders.
Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @danfavale.
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