[NY Post] The case against retiring Carmelo Anthony’s Knicks jersey in the MSG rafters

[rady]

The rafters have gotten lonely for the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.


Eight players and one coach have their jerseys retired, but no one has joined them since Patrick Ewing in 2003.


It’s not a coincidence that correlates with a bleak time in Knicks basketball — they have won just playoff series in two decades.


Perhaps that’s why there has been talk of Carmelo Anthony entering what has become a pretty exclusive club, joining Walt Frazier, Dick Barnett, Dick McGuire, Earl Monroe, Willis Reed, Dave DeBusschere, Bill Bradley, Patrick Ewing and former coach Red Holzman.


From that group, only Ewing and McGuire didn’t win championships.

The case against retiring Carmelo Anthony’s Knicks jersey in the MSG rafters

There has been talk of Carmelo Anthony entering what has become a pretty exclusive club.

nypost.com

The discussion about whether Melo should have his jersey retired in the rafters really heated up at the end of the season. Personally, I have mixed feelings about this.

On one hand, he's been an outstanding player who spent a whopping seven seasons in New York, which is quite a lengthy stint, one of the longest since the late '90s. I tried to find someone who spent more than five seasons with the team since 2000, and I couldn't.

During the Melo era, the Knicks did have some success, and there were times when they were genuinely enjoyable to watch. He currently holds the record for the most points scored in a game at MSG, and he achieved it while wearing a Knicks uniform. We also remember that thrilling series against the Celtics and the trip to the second round, the first time since 1999-2000. That's certainly something.

However, it's important to note that during his seven seasons, the Knicks only made the postseason in the first three years. His final four seasons ended without a playoff berth. He also faced criticism for the departure of Jeremy Lin, and his leadership was often questioned.

Now, the case for retiring his jersey only makes sense to me if it's something that truly needs to be done. The Knicks haven't retired many jerseys in recent years. The last jersey retired for a player who delivered a championship was back in 1990. Since then, only two numbers were retired—McGuire's in 1992 and Ewing's in 2003. Neither of them won a championship, but both took their teams to the finals AT LEAST a couple of times.

So, here we are, twenty years later, contemplating whether Anthony's number deserves to be retired. Does a seven-year career with limited success warrant more credit than a five-year career with greater success? Why would Melo deserve this honor more than Sprewell or Starks?

What are your thoughts on this matter?

 

[Kiyaman]

Ewing and Bernard King 50 point playoff games should be the only Jersey's going up in the Knicks rafter without a championship, both players it took 7 games to beat in a playoff series.

Owner Dolan personally made the Carmelo Anthony trade, and now owner Dolan wants to put Carmelo Jersey in the Knicks rafter, when Carmelo Anthony performance changed a high level Knicks team in February, down 3 or 4 levels having a one talent Carmelo on the court. Gallo & Chandler's offense/defense Melo never match in 7 seasons as a Knicks.

Did owner Dolan forget when Melo publicly demanded to be traded from the Knicks during the preseason games on his final contract season? And Dolan had to sign HOF coach Phil Jackson as Knicks president to talk Melo into resigning a contract that was 80% more than Melo's worth.

I'm sorry to say, but Carmelo Anthony were 10 times worst than the Isiah Thomas and Marbury era.
Carmelo Anthony one talent performance got to many of his Nuggets & Knicks teammates banned from the NBA.