A hot topic during this disastrous season for the New York Knicks has been whether or not Carmelo Anthony will bolt from the team through free agency at the end of the season, and one former NBA general manager believes that Anthony would be doing the team a favor if he left New York.
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According to Newsday, an anonymous former NBA GM said it would suit the Knicks if Anthony decided to take less money by leaving New York for another team, even the Chicago Bulls if the rumors of Joakim Noah trying to recruit Anthony prove to be true.
"I really think if Carmelo left them, he may be doing them a favor,'' said the ex-GM, who has no ties to the Knicks, according to the Newsday report. "They probably don't see it that way. But in the long run, it's probably doing them a favor.''
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The report indicates that the general manager thinks that allowing Anthony to walk will open up cap room in the summer of 2015 when Amar'e Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler and Andrea Bargnani come off the team's books and players like Rajon Rondo, Kevin Love and LaMarcus Aldridge may very well hit the open market.
While the summer of 2015 would mean that the 2014-15 campaign is as forgettable as the 2013-14 one has been thus far, the ex-GM believes the Knicks will be able to rebuild and thrive in a couple of years.
"New York is the greatest city in the world and the Garden is the best place to play basketball,'' the GM told the paper. "Guys want to go to play in New York. It's going to hurt for a little bit. But if you have cap space, it's not going to be that hard to get a good player to come to New York.''
The Knicks are 24-40 thus far this season, leading to speculation that Anthony might leave New York for a contender in order to win a championship in the next few years, something that doesn't seem possible with the current state of the Knicks franchise.
Anthony may choose to return to the Knicks since he can make the most money in the future by re-signing with the Knicks rather than any other team, however the anonymous GM believes that should the Knicks keep Anthony, they need to build around him while also avoiding long-term expensive contracts with other players.
"They need to get complementary players,'' he told the publication while addressing Anthony: "He's 'The Man.' Get those guys that the Sixers got when they had [Allen Iverson] and put guys around him that will play hard, defend, rebound the ball and can hit an open jump shot.''
It's been a long season for the Knicks, and while it remains to be seen what becomes of their star player, the team may have a couple more long seasons before turning things around.
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