A few days after parting ways with coach Derek Fisher, reports have emerged claiming that Knicks president Phil Jackson is planning to join the Los Angeles Lakers front office to reunite with his girlfriend, Lakers president Jeanie Buss. However, Knicks owner James Dolan will likely prevent that from happening, according to the New York Post's Marc Berman.
Since June 2015, there has been speculation that the opt-out for Jackson's contract is due this summer. But that turned out to be inaccurate. Berman notes that the Knicks executive does not have an opt-out until after next season and the team expects that their president will finish the five-year contract.
The rumored summer opt-out led some to speculate that if a Jackson-Buss-Lakers reunion were to take place, it would probably occur this off-season. That supposed move might not be feasible from the start as Jackson has been reported to have quite a rough relationship with Jim Buss, Jeanie's brother and also part owner of the Lakers team.
Furthermore, CBS New York reports, citing a source, that the Knicks president is "totally committed" to running the club and not plotting a return to the Los Angeles Lakers. "He doesn't have one foot out the door or anything like that. He bought a multimillion-dollar apartment in New York. He didn't rent it," the source said.
In other Knicks transfer rumors, power forward Carmelo Anthony has reportedly been contacted separately by the Cavaliers and Celtics for a deal that also involves Kevin Love. Part of piece posted by the New York Daily News on Saturday reads, "...the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers have discussed a blockbuster trade centered around Kevin Love. There were very preliminary discussions with the Knicks about expanding the deal to include Anthony, who would have to waive his no-trade clause to facilitate a deal to the Cavs."
Nevertheless, Anthony reiterated that he does not intend to leave the Knicks. He said he wants to stay in New York and has no plans of waiving his no-trade clause before the NBA's trade deadline on Thursday. In a recent interview on the XM Sirius Radio, the Knicks star shut down trade rumors involving him and said, "There's always some trade [expletive] going on. I'm not going anywhere."
The 31-year-old Anthony is in his 13th year in the NBA and is heading for a third consecutive season of missing the playoffs. His team is 23-32 and in 12th place in the Eastern Conference. On Friday, Anthony did mention that if the Knicks do not make the postseason, it will not "sit well" with him and he might reconsider his future with the team.
