Knicks news: Jim Boeheim says Carmelo Anthony would be better off in another team

Jim Boeheim knows Knicks star forward Carmelo Anthony better than most people despite already 14 years removed from their national title run at Syracuse.

Syracuse Orange head coach Jim Boeheim has helped groom Carmelo Anthony into the NBA superstar that he is today. He’s coached Anthony for one year in the NCAA, seeing the then-freshman Anthony lead the Orangemen into winning the 2003 NCAA National Championship Game.

As such, it’s understandable to hear Boeheim sound a bit frustrated of how unsavory things have gone between Anthony and the New York Knicks. In an interview with Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com, Boeheim opined that perhaps the best possible scenario for Anthony right now is the Knicks trading him into another team.

“I think for Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks, the best thing is for him is to go someplace where they can start over,” Boeheim said. “[The Knicks] need to start over. They have young guys and it would be best for him to get with veteran guys and he's still got two or three great years left. They can't win in New York for two years, three years.”

Anthony has played seven seasons so far with the Knicks, but it has been seven fruitless seasons during which the team has reached the playoffs just three times and never got past the first round. The Knicks have missed the boat to the postseason in each of the past four seasons, too.

Anthony is 33 years old and his window as a prime contributor is fast closing. Meanwhile, the Knicks are not expected to compete for an NBA title anytime soon. Knowing that, Boeheim suggested also that Carmelo Anthony would be a good fit to an immediate contender like the Houston Rockets, who certainly could use another big offensive threat to their roster.

“The Rockets would be great,” Boeheim said. “They got two point guards [Chris Paul and James Harden]. He could play like he played on the Olympic team, spot up, make shots. Everybody criticizes New York because he goes one-on-one, well in the triangle if you get the ball with eight seconds to go, you got no other option except to go one-on-one.”There he'll be spotting up, it will be like it was for the Olympic team, much easier for him. I think it will just work better for both teams, I hope it does.”