The New York Knicks wanted to get active in the trade deadline, but their only real asset had a no-trade clause in his contract. Carmelo Anthony is the best piece the Knicks have on their roster and he continued to stress his commitment to the franchise despite all of the losing and coaching changes. Many have wondered just how true that is, but Anthony is proving loyalty after rejecting a move to the Boston Celtics.
According to Ian Begley of ESPN.com, the Boston Celtics had expressed interest in trading for Anthony at the trade deadline and the start rejected the idea. It is unclear just how formal the talks between the two teams got. The Celtics could have certainly offered up a nice deal to the Knicks for Anthony, but Begley reports the star had no despite of leaving New York.
"Doing it in New York is better than doing it any place in the world," Anthony said, via ESPN.com. "One in New York is better than multiple somewhere else. That was the reason I wanted to come to New York. That's the reason I'm in New York. ... I don't want to run. I could have run somewhere when I was a free agent. I came back for a reason. I don't feel like I got to keep expressing that part of why I came back to New York."
Anthony might be committed to the Knicks, but that does not mean he happy with the current state of the team. New York has lost 13 of their last 15 games while sitting 6 ½ games out of the eighth playoff spot. Things are not good right now as Kurt Rambis tries to get the team some stability. Anthony told the media he was unhappy with how much losing is taking place in New York.
"Regardless of the record, just losing, accepting that -- it is hard to accept that," said Anthony, via ESPN.com. "You can't be satisfied with losing basketball games."
Anthony is not the only player frustrated with the state of the Knicks right now. Everyone is speaking out over the losing. Rambis told the media that he is going to try and fix the situation. Lineup shakeups could be taking place as Langston Galloway might be getting the starting nod while Jimmer Fredette sees more playing time. It is all on the table right now.
"I see frustration. We're all frustrated. We can't accept this," Rambis said, via Newsday.com. "For the organization, for our team, ourselves as individual, the coaching staff. We can't accept losing. I want the players to be angry. I want the players to be frustrated. That's the right attitude to have. If guys aren't playing, they should be frustrated that they are not playing."
