New York Knicks stars Carmelo Anthony, J.R. Smith make noises about next season – NBA Update
The New York Knicks have just been defeated by the Miami Heat in their first round Eastern Conference playoffs matchup. That though, hasn’t stopped the Knicks from featuring in the headlines as their stars are already creating a stir about next season.
Superstar forward Carmelo Anthony has been in the news almost permanently for one reason or the other, and the player seemed perturbed at a recent suggestion by his coach, Mike Woodson. Woodson had said that Anthony should get back next season in better shape, but the player didn’t necessarily like the comments.
Speaking to reporters, Carmelo remarked that he was indeed in good condition during the current season and if someone thought, because of Woodson’s comments, that he wasn’t, then they were mistaken.
"I think you guys looked at that a little bit too much, overanalyzed that," he said. "We all can come back in better shape, better condition.”
"I'm not going against what coach Woodson said. But I felt like I was in phenomenal shape, especially coming down the stretch, late March, April, the whole month of April, even coming down to the playoffs."
Anthony is a leading star for New York and the team has pretty much been rebuilt because of the trade that brought him to the Big Apple from the Denver Nuggets. Anthony though hasn’t exactly been able to produce the kind of turnaround at the franchise that many fans had hoped for and there were even suggestions that he could be traded away when Jeremy Lin was leading the Knicks in his absence.
Meanwhile, J.R. Smith, the forward who only joined New York this season and was perhaps below par in the series against the Miami Heat, appears undecided on whether he will stay with the team or not. Smith has a $2.5 million option for next season but has not made up his mind regarding it yet.
He has hinted he would want to stay, but he also warned on Twitter that he could leave. The player though has since said he was just messing about on the networking website.
"I wouldn't rather play anywhere else," he said. "This is my ultimate home."
"A lot of people was talking stuff on there," Smith said about Twitter. "I was just messing there. It was nothing serious."
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