New York Knicks Should Shut Down Carmelo Anthony

The New York Knicks have gotten off to the worst start in franchise history, and even though they finally ended their losing streak on Friday night with a win over the Boston Celtics, this season has been dreadful for them.

The Knicks still have a realistic shot to make the playoffs in the woeful Eastern Conference, but instead of making that their goal, they should shut down Carmelo Anthony and his gimpy knee and plan for next season.

In Phil Jackson‘s first offseason in charge of the Knicks, he decided to make a huge investment in Anthony. The hope from Jackson was that Anthony could be a huge piece to a Championship team, but the team as presently constructed doesn’t have enough talent to do so.

This year for the Knicks was always going to be a transition year as they will try to free up cap space and go after big free agents in the upcoming offseason. Guys like Amar’e Stoudemire and Andrea Bargnani will come off the books for the Knicks and their plan is to go after big free agents, including Marc Gasol and Rajon Rondo. They are using Jose Calderon and Samuel Dalembert as key pieces this season, and it is clear that this team doesn’t have a very high ceiling.

Carmelo has said that this knee injury will likely linger for the rest of year, but he has continued to play through it. It is likely that Melo doesn’t want to miss the playoffs two years in a row, but in reality that is the best thing for him and the team.

Melo should stop playing now, and either rest the knee or get surgery if that is required, so that next year when the roster looks a whole lot different — and hopefully for Knick fans – much improved, he will be fully healthy and capable of performing at a high level.

From the team’s perspective, it makes sense for them to shut down their best player, because the Knicks finally own the rights to their first-round pick. Since the Knicks know they aren’t winning a championship this year, it would be much wiser to get a lottery pick than make the playoffs as an eighth seed and get a late first-round pick.

A healthy Carmelo with a lottery pick, and maybe a couple of top-tier free agents is a nice foundation for the Knicks next year. If the Knicks let Melo continue to play they still probably won’t make the playoffs, but it is possible. Unfortunately, it is also possible that he hurts his knee even more and jeopardizes next year.

Right now, the Knicks and Carmelo’s thought process needs to be about next season, which means shutting it down for the rest of this year.