Jackson says Anthony needs to move on

NEW YORK: New York Knicks president Phil Jackson reiterated on Friday that Carmelo Anthony wasn’t a good fit for his team and that he should consider a trade to a strong contender. “We’d like him to have success,” Jackson told American sports broadcaster ESPN on Friday. “The opportunity is narrowing. We’d just like him to have success somewhere. We’re not going to be there. “Hopefully, we’ll be maybe a playoff team next year. It would be tough to consider us a possible champion. Last month Jackson said the star forward would be “better off somewhere else.” After the Knicks failed to make the playoffs for a third straight season, Jackson indicated nine-time NBA all-star Anthony wasn’t in the team’s rebuilding plans.

“He has a no-trade contract,” Jackson said on Friday. “I think I expressed what I felt. I can’t express it any better. I thought it was well-said.” Tensions mounted between Jackson and Anthony in January, when a columnist known to be a confidant of Jackson wrote that the player had outlived his usefulness in New York. The two met in a bid to hash things out, with Anthony reportedly telling Jackson he wanted to stay put. Because of his no-trade clause Anthony would have to sign off on any deal. — AFP