Carmelo Anthony to have knee surgery, out for the season
Carmelo Anthony's painful slog through a losing season is mercifully coming to an end.
The New York Knicks announced Wednesday that Anthony is being shut down for the remainder of the season so he can have a knee debridement procedure to alleviate persistent left knee soreness, as first reported by Marc Stein of ESPN earlier in the day.
The 11-year veteran will undergo surgery to remove scar tissue, calcification and other debris from his left patella, a procedure that will keep him on the shelf for four-to-six months and end his season. It's a call Anthony has been putting off for some time but speaking about openly, and the decision was anticipated following the All-Star break.
It's believed that Anthony prolonged his season in order to play in the All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden. Anthony called the idea absurd, but after hobbling through 30 ineffective minutes in last weekend's showcase, it appears the speculation about Anthony's incentives was correct.
While this is disappointing news for Knicks fans who now have to watch a team that's 0-13 without Anthony on the season, the decision is in the team's best long-term interest.
Anthony makes the Knicks better - he's averaging 24.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists, and the team improves by 9.8 points per 100 possessions when he's on the floor - but that runs contrary to the team's chances of landing a top pick in June's draft.
The Knicks are currently dead last in the NBA at 10-43 and stand a great chance of landing a top-three pick that would help expedite the team's retooling process for next season.
The absence of Anthony should also open up more playing time for prospects Tim Hardaway Jr., Langston Galloway and Cleanthony Early, providing them valuable on-court experience and giving the Knicks a better idea of what they have in each.
Most importantly, shutting Anthony down now makes it more likely he'll enter the 2015-16 season at full health, a far more important end than a few additional wins in March or April.
"We're really confident that he heals well and he'll be fine," team president Phil Jackson said Wednesday.
The four-to-six month timeline leaves open the possibility that Anthony could enter training camp still in recovery mode, and if that's the case some will surely call into question whether Anthoyn should have shut it down earlier.