Knicks Legend Carmelo Anthony Fires Back at Phil Jackson

Anthony's Issues with the Triangle's Deployment

Jackson built his championship-winning formula behind that mythical triangle offense, a scheme based on ball-movement and scripted interior passing that did not fit the roster that he compiled as an executive. The NBA was transitioning into the pace-and-space era during their mid-2010s partnership, giving the Knicks poor odds at hanging with their contemporaries by sticking with an plodding, increasingly-outdated scheme.

Anthony was at his best as a creative, footwork-dependent shooter, and Jackson spent all of his time attempting to put together pieces around him who never had a chance at seeing his plan through.

"We had a poorly-structured team," Anthony continued, "and you was at the helm of that. Nobody told you who to go get. You had this vision of wanting to play in a certain type of system...at the time, it didn't fit the style of the NBA. We was the laughingstock of the NBA for being in the triangle, and I had to fight that. I had to take those bullets. Not you, Phil Jackson. While I'm taking those bullets, you're up in the stands, tweeting, talking about 'Melo breaking the triangle.'"

Bad Fit and Worse Additions

The east wasn't exactly in fine form during Anthony's Knicks run, yet by the end of his and Jackson's three years together in New York, they'd united for zero playoff appearances. And even though Anthony has far from a spotless legacy, with regular accusations of selfish play often correlating with his lack of postseason success, you'd be hard-pressed to find a New Yorker who has a nice thing to say about Jackson's managerial stint.

His transactions were defined by his adding older stars who failed to fit into his slow style, like Derrick Rose, and lottery picks who never had a chance at salvaging the Knicks' playoff hopes.

"I never spoke on him, I never spoke about him," Anthony said. "I probably had three conversations with the man his whole tenure. We didn't have a relationship. So if I was that much of a hinderance to you, you should have came to me and said it."

For as many beefs as Anthony attracts, he's often attempted to play it cool in relishing in post-retirement. He evidently couldn't resist firing back at the decorated basketball icon, though, and anyone who watched how he built those flop Knicks teams can understand Anthony's frustration with how the latter days of his Knicks residence is getting slanted.