Carmelo Anthony: Last 12 Months Have Been 'Emotional Rollercoaster'
BALTIMORE (CBSNewYork) -- Carmelo Anthony said Wednesday he's had to search for happiness again as a basketball player after the "emotional rollercoaster" the Knicks have put him through over the past year.
Anthony is hosting The Basketball Tournament, a March Madness-type event, in his hometown of Baltimore and received an honorary medal from the mayor.
After the ceremony, Anthony said he has not met with the Knicks this offseason, but he revealed he has spoken with new general manager Scott Perry.
Anthony said he needled Perry, a former Pistons executive, about Detroit selecting Darko Milicic instead of him in the 2003 draft.
"We've communicated," Anthony said. "I've known Scott for maybe 10 years. I've known him for a while back to his Detroit days, the draft, 2003, all that. I've reminded him of that."
As for the departure of team president Phil Jackson, whom Anthony famously feuded with, the 10-time All-Star said only, "I thought it was a business decision. (Owner James) Dolan's got to run his organization."
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Under Jackson, the Knicks tried for months to deal Anthony, which was complicated by his no-trade clause. Since Steve Mills assumed the president's role and Perry was hired, the Knicks have pumped the brakes on their trade talks with the Houston Rockets, reportedly the only team Anthony wants to play for next season.
Mills has said the Knicks are prepared to go into the season with Anthony on the roster if they don't find a deal they like.
Anthony declined Wednesday to discuss which uniform he might be wearing come September.
"I don't know," Anthony said. "I'm not talking about basketball right now."
When asked how he'd describe the last 12 months, Anthony said "an emotional rollercoaster."
"But I had to find peace," he said. "I had to come to peace with myself, come to peace with kind of the situation I'm in and kind of try to find happiness again. I kind of lost that a little bit, but I'm finding that now, and it feels good."
