When Phil Jackson took over the New York Knicks in spring of 2014, the team was mediocre and lottery bound as the all-in, veteran-led supporting cast around Carmelo Anthony crumbled. But the draft offered no silver lining. The Knicks’ pick was owed to Denver, a remnant of the trade that brought Melo to New York in the first place.
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Without a chance to infuse youth and promise into the franchise, Jackson had a much different objective in the summer of 2014: retain Melo and build around him. The much-better Chicago Bulls chased Anthony hard, but New York managed to keep him. Part of that bargain included offering Melo a no-trade clause.
This has turned out to be a major mistake.
Jackson’s roster moves backfired as his inexperienced coach Derek Fisher led the Knicks to an all-time bad season. Melo struggled with injury all year and went on the shelf after All-Star Weekend in New York passed. That awful season, though, afforded them the prize of Kristaps Porzingis in the draft. To land a player like Porzingis is worth every loss.
Three years into Jackson’s tenure, he knows what he has with Melo (an aging scorer he no longer wants) and Porzingis (a superstar on the rise, a franchise centerpiece). After a couple of melodramatic internal blowups, it has become widely accepted that the Knicks would like to trade Melo. (The fact that at least three discreet trade offers made by the Knicks involving Melo have been leaked would give this idea support.)
Alas, Melo has the no-trade clause.
Having forced a trade to New York back in 2011, and being quite accustomed to life in the big city after spending the first 7.5 years of his career in Denver, he does not seem to want to leave NYC for just anywhere. This effectively destroys the Knicks’ leverage even more than Jackson’s taunts about Melo’s game have.
Melo is a certain type of NBA scorer. He’s rare in that he likes to create for himself, but isn’t particularly adept at creating for others. Fit is really important in terms of getting the most out of Melo. But with the no-trade clause, it’ll take more than a team with assets to burn to convince themselves Melo is a good fit. They’d have to convince Anthony, too.
Given the size of the salary cap these days, no-trade clauses are almost more dangerous than massive contracts. Portland, for instance, gave Evan Turner way too much money for what he brings to the team. Despite that hefty contract, the Blazers can conceivably move Turner to a desperate team, or for another team’s mistake. It’s not a good contract by any means, but it’s movable.
Melo’s deal may or may not be a good contract — it’s right around fair in my estimation — but it’s plainly not movable. He cannot be moved without consent, and that’s not a right he will give up easily.
The NBA trade deadline is only three weeks away. Remember that the Nuggets under Masai Ujiri (now with Toronto) spent roughly seven months finding a Melo trade. Eventually, the Knicks gave up everything they could reasonably trade save for Landry Fields. If Jackson wants to reboot before the season is out, he does not have the luxury of time.
The odds are much better in the summer, when some team will have struck out on free agency and where the Knicks’ rebuilding moves will turn Melo off enough to reconsider his stance on departing New York. Essentially, it would be almost as if Melo were a restricted free agent this summer. He could pick his own team, but that team must send enough back to New York to convince them to “let him go.” And the salary is already negotiated.
We’ll see how Melodrama II shakes out. The bulk of Jackson’s moves have not inspired great confidence in his ability as a personnel boss.
But the lesson for the Knicks and other teams is to be way more careful about no-trade clauses. Giving one to the wrong player can make your team-building project very difficult.
