Carmelo Anthony has been at a low boil since December and his temperature rose again on draft night after Phil Jackson selected European project Kristaps Porzingis and traded away Melo’s friend, Tim Hardaway Jr.
According to a source, Anthony was “very disappointed’’ to see Hardaway go. Anthony now is the last man standing from the Knicks roster that Jackson inherited 15 months ago. Though Anthony considers Porzingis a very good prospect, he — along with many scouts around the league — is wondering about his timetable. Anthony watched Porzingis’ workout Monday, but it was shortened because the Latvian suffered a quad cramp.
“The bottom line is that sometimes Melo wonders if he belongs here — that’s all I can say,’’ one source said.
According to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, Anthony feels “completely hoodwinked and betrayed by Phil Jackson’’ from Thursday’s moves. Smith’s radio report cited sources close to Anthony, who is in Las Vegas for his wife La La’s birthday.
“[Anthony] feels like he was lied to and sold a bill of goods,” Smith said. “He’s willing to concede he wanted his money, but he didn’t know it would be like this and this bad. He can’t believe the second season for Phil Jackson he has to look forward to being worse than last season was.”
Anthony attempted to defuse the situation Friday in a cryptic message on Twitter:
It was retweeted by the Knicks’ official account.
One person who spoke to Anthony on Friday said the message was an attempt to signify he still had trust in Jackson and general manager Steve Mills, despite his disappointment over Hardaway’s departure and the selection of Porzingis, whose name was not mentioned.
Anthony followed up with another tweet saluting Hardaway, who was traded to Atlanta for the rights to Notre Dame senior point guard Jerian Grant. “The bond between mentor and protege enables us to stay true to our chosen path,’’ he tweeted.
Later, in an Instagram comment to a fan posted Friday night, Anthony said of Porzingis, “I can’t wait either. He’s a steal.’’
When asked Friday about Anthony’s reaction to the Porzingis pick, Jackson noted Anthony’s attendance at the abbreviated workout. Jackson said he texted Anthony about the pick, but didn’t reveal anything more.
Anthony’s frustration with the Jackson regime would be nothing new. According to a source, Anthony, before re-signing last summer, was promised by Mills and Jackson the club would be strong in the first year of his contract before bulking up in summer of 2015.
The Post reported in December he was so depressed about the team’s awful record, he considered waiving his no-trade clause if Jackson could come up with a deal. After the season, Anthony admitted he had “second-guessed’’ his decision to re-sign with the Knicks as a free agent before Jackson put him at ease during a January dinner in London.
The question is whether selecting Porzingis jibes with Anthony’s advancing age (31) and limited window as foundation of a title contender. Some scouts wonder if Porzingis will be serviceable defensively in his first two seasons.
“Carmelo’s always on my mind. He’s our favorite son,” Jackson said. “But the second most important thing is what we do for this franchise. That has to be a consideration. I let Melo know that when we made this choice. We anticipate it’s going to be rough, whether we have a 19-year-old KP or 19-year-old whoever.”
Asked where the sweet spot of their careers may intersect, Jackson said: “We’ll balance the team out with veterans, so the load doesn’t fall on Kris or [Grant] as a rookie. But these are young men who have to adjust to the game. This young man [Porzingis] can shoot from 30 feet and can pass the basketball. If Anthony has spaces around him, he’ll have isolations available. He’s going to like the advantage of having a player like [Porzingis] on the team.”