Phil takes a Twitter shot at Carmelo Anthony
GREENBURGH, N.Y. — The Knicks, even in Phil Jackson’s media blackout, have made it the NBA’s worst-kept secret that Jackson is trying to push Carmelo Anthony to waive his no-trade clause. And after watching Anthony and the Knicks go through practice Tuesday in silence, Jackson took to the internet to take his latest shot.
Following on the heels of the story penned by his long-time friend Charley Rosen that ripped Anthony and pronounced that the Knicks star had outlived his usefulness in New York, a story appeared on Bleacher Report on Tuesday afternoon from a reporter, Kevin Ding, who covered Jackson in Los Angeles, praising the genius of Jackson and declaring that Jackson could not change Anthony’s mentality to one of a winner.
Jackson then took to twitter, for the first time since Dec. 27, when he announced his split with fiancee Jeanie Buss. He wrote, “Bleacher’s Ding almost rings the bell, but I learned you don’t change the spot on a leopard with Michael Graham in my CBA daze.”
While it had an air of vague mystery like most of Jackson’s cryptic missives, it certainly seemed with the, “almost rings the bell,” to indicate that Ding’s premise about Anthony is correct.
Anthony has grown more and more agitated with Jackson’s prodding, even if he understands it is part of the personality from his talks with Kobe Bryant, who starred for Jackson in Los Angeles. But Jackson was the coach then and in the trenches with the players. Now he sits about 10 rows back at games, retreating to his executive suite in the catacombs of Madison Square Garden, rarely interacting with Anthony or any of the players.
Anthony said earlier this season that his talks with Jackson have been limited to brief conferences after an episode that raises Anthony’s ire. The first came in December after Jackson first spoke about Anthony’s friend LeBron James, describing James’ business associates and family members as a, “posse.” He followed that up in January with a brief meeting in the office after taking exception to the article penned by Rosen that Anthony believed expressed Jackson’s sentiments.
What has had no…
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