NBPA director says Phil Jackson tried to ‘shame’ Carmelo Anthony out of New York

After Knicks president Phil Jackson publicly said star forward Carmelo Anthony should move on from New York, NBPA director Michele Roberts came to a conclusion:

“I think he was trying to shame ‘Melo out of the city,” Roberts said, according to The Vertical’s Harvey Araton.

Jackson didn’t hold back during his end-of-the-season press conference in April, blasting Anthony’s shot selection and defensive effort. It was the culmination of a season’s worth of bombs the Zen Master launched in Anthony’s direction.

“We’ve not been able to win with him on the court at this time,” Jackson said during his exit press conference. “I think the direction with our team is that he is a player that would be better off somewhere else and using his talents somewhere he can win, or chase that championship.”

Roberts took action, reaching out to NBA commissioner Adam Silver shortly after Jackson’s comments. In a statement, the union cited its own inability to speak publicly about players wanting to be employed elsewhere.

“The door swings both ways when it comes to demonstrating loyalty and respect,” Roberts told Araton.

But the league has yet to respond to Jackson’s comments or the NBPA’s complaint. That hasn’t sat well with Roberts, who says she has players who are “very unhappy” with the NBA’s silence.

This situation is an awkward one. After all, it was Jackson who signed Anthony to a five-year, $124 million deal in 2014 that included a no-trade clause and a problematic 15 percent trade inflator — one that could potentially increase the value of the final two years of his contract from $53 million to more than $60 million.

Anthony is also the best player on a Knicks team that has underperformed in each of the past four seasons. The Knicks failed to make the playoffs this year, finishing 31-51 despite a well-documented roster revamp that included deals for Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Courtney Lee, and Brandon Jennings. That’s worse than the year before, when the team won 32 games despite having two fewer All-Stars.

Those two seasons pale in comparison to the Knicks’ 2014-15 campaign that ended with a 17-65 record, worst in franchise history.

It was also Jackson’s close friend and former assistant coach, Charley Rosen, who authored two scathing columns critical of Anthony’s on-court deficiencies, including a propensity to hold onto the ball and lack of effort on the defensive end. In February, Jackson came out of his social media hiatus to publicly agree with a column written by Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding that questioned Anthony’s desire to win.

Jackson and Knicks owner James Dolan jointly opted into the final two years of Jackson’s five-year contract as team president. But Anthony also controls his own fate, holding a no-trade clause.

The stand-off could make for an interesting summer in New York. But then again, when is summer in New York ever dull?