New York Knicks: Kristaps Porzingis Wants Carmelo Anthony To Stay

The New York Knicks are reportedly attempting to trade Carmelo Anthony. Kristaps Porzingis hopes that ‘Melo will remain with the Knicks beyond the deadline.

Phil Jackson and the New York Knicks are reportedly attempting to trade franchise player Carmelo Anthony. Jackson has allegedly reached out to three teams about a potential trade: the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Los Angeles Clippers.

There are practical reasons to move Anthony at this stage of his career, but the future face of the franchise is hoping that his mentor will remain in New York.

If the Knicks trade Carmelo Anthony, there will be positive and adverse effects. The believed positive is that Jackson would have an opportunity to execute a rebuild without having to acquiesce to the timeline of a 32-year-old star.

The negative, however, is that Kristaps Porzingis will no longer have the benefit of playing alongside a player who commands the attention of the opposition’s best defender.

Per Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News, Porzingis agrees:

“I think it would make life harder for me on the court (if Anthony was traded),” Porzingis told the Daily News. “He makes stuff easier for me.”

“There’s still a lot more things I want to learn from Melo,” Porzingis told the News. “So I would love to have him around for a long time. I always love playing with Melo.”

That’s a simple and concise proclamation of what Porzingis hopes to see Anthony do: stay with the Knicks.

Anthony has taken Porzingis under his wing since Jackson controversially drafted the 7’3″ big man in 2015. He’s worked to help Porzingis improve his versatility as a scorer by training him in isolation.

Most importantly, Anthony has alleviated a significant amount of pressure from Porzingis during games by drawing double teams and being the opposition’s top target defensively.

Given that reality, trading Anthony would come with the adverse effect of applying a more severe degree of pressure to Porzingis in just his second NBA season.

Porzingis has been labeled as the Knicks’ best player due to his presence as a legitimate two-way star. It’s Anthony who makes it possible for Porzingis and New York’s other contributors to exploit advantageous matchups.

Porzingis will need to move into the role of a No. 1 scoring option at some point in his career, but he realizes the value of Anthony’s presence to his development process.

With Anthony in control of his own destiny via a no-trade clause, he now knows what Porzingis wants him to do: stay.