Building frustration in the New York Knicks' locker room nearly led to a fight between star player Carmelo Anthony and second-year guard Tim Hardaway Jr. following the team's loss to the Brooklyn Nets last week, reports Chris Broussard of ESPN.
Carmelo Anthony threatened to beat up a teammate, per report
The Knicks’ star wasn’t happy with how Tim Hardaway Jr. complained in his direction about a rebound. Also: the players are reportedly souring on the Triangle offense.
Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
The argument reportedly started during the game, when Hardaway yelled “Get a rebound!” in the direction of Anthony, who wasn’t happy with the way he was addressed. The Knicks’ franchise player then “approached Hardaway on the way down the court and used an expletive to ask Hardaway who in the world he thought he was talking to.”
Anthony also told Hardaway that he was “going to beat him up when they got into the locker room after the game.”
While the situation never came to blows, Broussard notes that the argument was “emblematic of the volatile state of the Knicks.” New York is currently near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings with a 4-19 record, and has had regular issues performing late in games.
The triangle offense and more difficult practices being implemented by first-year head coach Derek Fisher also appear to be sources of frustration for the team. While the fractured relationship between Anthony and Hardaway could separate the team, the players are reportedly united in their "disdain for the triangle offense."
They're also said to be unhappy with how much harder Fisher pushes them than the team's previous coach, Mike Woodson. This comes days after team president Phil Jackson told reporters that, "There's some resistance to discipline and order and culture change and things like that."
But perhaps it’s too early to panic. As Posting and Toasting’s Seth Rosenthal writes, this kind of dissatisfaction is normal for a team struggling this badly:
“Players do not tank, and this sucks for them. OF COURSE they hate the Triangle! It’s hard! They’re losing! They’re losing so they can learn, but -- on an individual level -- for what? They are being made to look amateur for the sake of progress toward something in which most of them, on expiring contracts, have no stake, and they wish they could just play the way that’s most comfortable. This regime demands patience and sacrifice from guys who will mostly not be around for the intended payoff. That’ll get you bickering.”
Rosenthal also writes that “this was to be expected, and it will probably get worse before it gets better.”
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