Carmelo Anthony: ‘I will always be tied to New York’
![Carmelo Anthony against the Chicago Bulls at Madison Square Garden...](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.newsday.com%2Fimage-service%2Fversion%2Fc%3AN2IyYjk3NDUtYzNmZS00%3ANDUtYzNmZS00OTFmMGRm%2Fspmelo0907_web.jpg%3Ff%3DLandscape%2B16%253A9%26w%3D770%26q%3D1&w=1920&q=80)
Carmelo Anthony against the Chicago Bulls at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, Apr. 4, 2017. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Carmelo Anthony’s future with the Knicks remains unsettled, but he “will always be tied to New York.”
Anthony did an interview with “The Crossover,” Sports Illustrated’s NBA site. Sports Illustrated posted the video on The Crossover’s verified Twitter account on Wednesday afternoon. Anthony appears in the video wearing a baseball cap with the words “Famous Nobody.”
Anthony reportedly is open to waiving his no-trade clause to join James Harden, Chris Paul and the Rockets.
“I will always be a part of this community regardless of where I’m at,” Anthony told The Crossover. “I will always come back here. I will always have business here. I will always have family here. So those things will never change. I will always be tied to New York.”
Anthony spoke at an event in Baltimore last month and said he didn’t plan to meet with the Knicks this offseason. He also said he didn’t know if he will be playing his home games at Madison Square Garden this upcoming season.
Knicks president Steve Mills omitted Anthony’s name in a blog entry he wrote about the upcoming season on the official Madison Square Garden website last month. Mills focused mostly on the team’s youth in the blog entry.
The Knicks acquired Anthony in February 2011 and made the playoffs that season and the next two seasons. But the Knicks went 31-51 this past season and missed the playoffs for the fourth straight year. Anthony played in 74 games this past season, averaging 22.4 points per game.
“It don’t feel like six and a half years,” Anthony told The Crossover. “It’s a long time. It’s a long time.”
Anthony said basketball is his connection to New York.
“I’m connected to it, it’s a part of me, like this city is a part me, I’m a part of this city,” Anthony said. “I was born here. My roots . . . no pun intended, but basketball keeps me connected to New York.”
Anthony also talked about his love of New York, especially the legendary Rucker Park, and how he views himself as a regular New Yorker.
“I’m a very random person,” he said. “You might find me in a grocery store, you might find me in a museum, you might find me in a deli. I like to ride my bike, just be out. I like to walk at night. I don’t get to see too many people when I’m walking at night. But when I’m walking or just out and about, by the time people double back and can’t believe that it’s me, I’m already gone.”