During the pandemic, if you were to bet on which player would be on the Knicks roster for 2020-21, Elfrid Payton or Carmelo Anthony, the smarter game was the former Syracuse star.
But there was Payton on a Zoom call from Portland on Sunday after the Knicks shootaround talked about his match against Blazers superstar Damian Lillard – still Anthony’s teammate.
Payton stabilized the point guard position during the start of Knicks’ 8-9. Anthony chose to re-sign with the Blazers for the $ 2.6 million minimum for the NBA veteran. The Blazers now desperately need Anthony with studs CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic for a longer period of time.
Should the Knicks have made it harder on Anthony, given that they were stuck with $ 18 million in pay space?
Yes, a case could be made for their shortage of attacking talent – ranked 30th in the league with an average score of 101.3 points.
On the other hand, the case is stronger. Knicks president Leon Rose made the right decision by not going all-in on his former client in November. The Post has reported that after taking the job, Rose’s dream duo added Chris Paul and his mate Anthony.
Anthony, 36 years old, still attracts a lot of attention. His presence could have been disturbing if things weren’t the way he was in terms of playing time and ball touches. In fact, the Knicks have established an identity as a rugged, defensive ball club. That is not Anthony’s calling card.
Could Julius Randle have had this bust-out season with Anthony, who plays both small and power forward, on the roster? Probably not. Randle needs the ball, has it on most possessions. For most of his career, Anthony did too.
Taking a lesser role in a Portland-winning program with Lillard and McCollum is an easier proposition than Anthony who downsizes his role with a non-established cast of Knicks allegedly kicking off the 2020-21 campaign.
Randle may not have had the confidence to make himself the alpha male of the team with Anthony in the starting line-up.
Additionally, RJ Barrett has moved to more of a small-forward role with Reggie Bullock as the starting shooting guard to give Barrett fewer ballhandling duties. Anthony’s presence would have removed Bullock and given Barrett the role of shooting guard.
Bullock, who doesn’t need the stone, started all games when he was healthy – 15 of the first 18. He would miss Sunday’s game with a pain in the neck. As long as Bullock was available, coach Tom Thibodeau stayed with the same starting unit.
“I think we have a pretty good balance,” Payton said on Sunday. “Everyone gives each other the space to do what they are good at. And guys are, RJ found a really good groove, he plays really well. Julius does it all year round. ”
Despite his three-point shooting problems, Barrett has been a ruthless bull with an engine that won’t stop. He may also have been hindered in a foul in which Anthony would like the ball – more to shoot than to create.
Barrett scored with Anthony for his rookie season in fetch games in Columbia. Anthony could have served as a great mentor, but you never know how that would have turned out.
Think of his former Denver teammate, Chauncey Billups, who accused Anthony of caring more for his stats than for winning.
“It meant too much because he could play matches where he had 20, 22 [points]We win the game and he’s crazy, ” said Billups in 2019.
As a Bulls coach, Thibodeau chased Anthony when he was a free agent in 2014 and worked with him at Team USA.
“He’s had an incredible career, a great career,” said Thibodeau before the game. “The fact that he still goes says a lot about who he is. A man of high character, he represented himself well. has achieved quite a bit. “
In the early days of training camp, Anthony said the stars were out of alignment for a Knicks reunion.
“At the moment it wasn’t really much [of consideration]Anthony said. The Knicks made movements trying to figure out which direction they wanted to go. I’m sure they have a plan. I don’t think coming in and trying to screw up their plan was good for both parties.
“They are in the process of rebuilding and figuring out what’s in their near future. I personally wanted to be part of a situation where I was already comfortable. I felt it was the right match right now, where I am this year. ”
In his second season with the Blazers, Anthony averages 12.2 points and shoots 40.5 percent – 45 out of 3. He has only 1.2 assists in 25 minutes.
As Jeff Van Gundy noted, the Knicks are “not going anywhere” until they improve their “attacking talent.”
With a new order lined up from Randle and Barrett, adding Anthony to the trade deadline may not be a surprise. Of course, the Blazers, who are proud to revive Anthony’s career last season, won’t be too eager unless current injuries torpedo their season by the late March deadline.
Portland signed Anthony to a one-year deal with the eyes on a deep playoff run. The Knicks are trying to avoid another lottery. They want to be in the middle of a playoff race for the first time since the 2013-14 season, when they were in it until the last few days.
With basically 10 teams qualifying – the 7-10 seeds going head-to-head in a play-in event – the Knicks were able to sneak in. They were eighth in Sunday’s action.
It was smart to decline in November to make a big move for Anthony. But don’t rule out anything in the future.