Is Carmelo Anthony a Knicks legend?
He was introduced as such on the big screen at the Knicks-Heat game on Tuesday night, and drew a huge ovation from the crowd as he was. And yes, if you look back a decade, everyone who watched even five minutes of MSG Network or listened to WFAN when ‘Melo was traded to New York knows the chorus to “I’m Comin’ Home” because of his arrival in New York, and his six-plus seasons in New York were pretty statistically equal to what he accomplished in Denver.
But can you be a Knicks legend on a team where, in his six-plus seasons, they won one playoff series and finished with three straight sub-.500 campaigns?
“He was hugging all the players as if he’d won four championships here…and I was thinking, ‘how in the hell did this happen?’” Gio asked. “Why do I have such a different perspective on Carmelo’s tenure than everyone who was there last night? I know you’re caught up in the moment and thing everything Knicks is wonderful – but maybe, that gap between the 1990s and when Carmelo came, if you’re a younger fan, the only semblance of success you’ve seen was when he was here?”
The numbers say so, but to Gio, the cache doesn’t.
“I was just shocked – not that he came here and was Jason Bay to the Knicks, but I was shocked,” Gio said.
“It was complicated when he was here, will Phil Jackson running things and three of four different coaches,” Boomer replied. “He’s not a legend; it was complicated time here, and people weren’t very kind to Jeremy Lin, and things were ugly. Maybe he’s a local guy, from here or Baltimore, who knows.”
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Gio understands all of that complicates ‘Melo’s Knicks legacy, and is settled on younger fans only knowing those couple seasons of success at the top of that era as the reason…even if it’s not necessarily valid?
“When I see John Starks, or Anthony Mason, or Patrick Ewing at the Garden, those are the guys I get excited about, like you when you see Clyde (Frazier),” Gio said.
“He had seven seasons with the Knicks, and imagine if he won a title here?” Boomer replied. “There was a lot of crap going on here off the court – and remember, the Knicks went above Donnie Walsh to trade for him, when they could’ve had him as a free agent that summer.”
A few callers then weighed in on the issue – take a listen above and let us know where you stand!
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