Jan 17, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks former player Carmelo Anthony sits court side during the second quarter between the New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Knicks Legend Carmelo Anthony Suggests Offseason Targets

Originally posted on New York Knicks on SI
By Henry Brown | Last updated Jun 17, 2025 7:00 AM ET

While nearly every other prominent voice in NBA media is invested in New York Knicks drama, whether it's about their decision to fire their head coach of five years in Tom Thibodeau immediately following the team's best season since 2000 or their sloppy process to find his replacement, Carmelo Anthony is focusing on roster-oriented solutions.

Despite the pressing need at head coach, there's certainly room to improve within the Knicks' rotation; they had a half-dozen players represented on The Ringer's top 100 players list, but they were clearly outclassed by the Indiana Pacers in these most recent Eastern Conference Finals.

Magic Johnson threw blame on the players for how their spectacle of an offseason has started to play out, but fellow Hall of Famer Anthony is already looking ahead to who out there could best help the Knicks bounce back in 2025-26.

He takes to his podcast, "7PM in Brooklyn," to suggest that maybe the Knicks asked too much of Mikal Bridges as a scoring release valve in this past season, and throws a few role players out there as backcourt compliments to Jalen Brunson.

"I don't think that we can put Mikal in those situations to run offenses through," he says. "Coby White's available, Lonzo Ball's available."

Jalen Brunson with a backcourt mate like Coby White or Lonzo Ball would change the game for the Knicks

Melo: "Giannis, the Knicks don't need that ... you need a backcourt today." pic.twitter.com/S6wCfq609r
— 7PM in Brooklyn (@7PMinBrooklyn) June 13, 2025

The pair of Chicago Bulls guards may not be long for their incumbent team, as they're likely to dip further into rebuild mode after another year of missing the playoffs and trying to hit on their draft picks at the cusp of the lottery.

Ball, a table-setting point guard who's happy to swing the ball and pick up defensive slack, is seen by Anthony as a "low-risk, high-reward" option for the Knicks to swing on, a bet on his ability to stay healthy after last year's bounce-back campaign.

White is more of a scoring guard, someone who could really threaten an opposing defense as a shooter and driver in substituting for Brunson. While Ball would relieve the All-Star of his passing point guard duties, White can provide some spacing to New York's thin backcourt.

This article first appeared on New York Knicks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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