Isola: Carmelo should consider asking Knicks for a trade

Wait until Carmelo Anthony finds out that Derek Fisher won’t be disappointed if the Knicks fail to make the playoffs.

“The focus on the process,” Fisher said on Tuesday, “is more important than the result.”

That’s easy for Fisher to say. He won championships as a player and his coaching career is just beginning, while Anthony is seeing his prime seasons slip away.

Another quiet April and May would mark the third straight year that Anthony and the Knicks won’t reach the postseason. The process for Melo stinks.

DEREK FISHER PREACHES ‘PROCESS’ AS KNICKS CONTINUE TO LOSE

Anthony has always been proud that his teams in Denver and New York qualified for the playoffs in each of the first 10 years of his career.

Now, he’s working on the wrong type of streak and it may be time for Anthony to bid farewell to the rebuilding Knicks and chase a title elsewhere. An amicable divorce may be best for both parties.

It’s an option Anthony should seriously consider.

Phil Jackson’s plan conflicts with Anthony’s win-now plan. It always did. Kristaps Porzingis, the future of the franchise, is 20. Carmelo is 31 with 12 seasons under his belt and nearly 32,000 minutes on his legs.

ISOLA: WHAT’S THE POINT? KNICKS NEED BACKCOURT HELP

“Why not trade him now when you could get something for him?” said one opposing team executive.

Anthony has a no-trade clause and has the right to veto any potential deal. And it may be difficult to convince Anthony to waive that provision especially since he loves playing for the Knicks and living in New York.

Anthony has given no indication that he intends to uproot his career. But he also has a lot of pride and his ego has taken a hit the past few seasons.

The Knicks won 37 games two years ago and are 40-93 under Fisher. Meanwhile, Melo’s peers are winning championships, or at least in contention to win.

Two of Carmelo’s pals, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, have won multiple rings. Chris Paul, who is also part of the inner circle and a charter member of the Bahamas banana boat club, plays for a perennial contender.

Anthony?

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He’s made one trip to a conference finals with Denver and has won just a single playoff series in New York. That win over Boston three years ago could be Carmelo’s high water mark with the Knicks.

A very different Celtics team handed the Knicks their fourth straight loss on Tuesday. The future for the Celtics is promising; a young roster with plenty of draft picks gives Danny Ainge flexibility to improve quickly.

The Knicks future is promising as well because of Porzingis. But we may be talking two, three years down the road before Porzingis develops into a top talent. That’s a long time for a veteran player like Anthony who had knee surgery last year.

Why would Anthony even want to wait around that long?

LeBron twice left a contending team to position himself for a championship. Now Kevin Durant may follow suit. Durant has been to an NBA Finals and Oklahoma City currently owns the league’s third best record yet he’s already thinking about upgrading.

Trading Anthony’s contract is no easy task and may take a third team to pull it off. And with the Warriors dominating the league and Cavs in control of the East, a trade out of New York won’t guarantee Anthony a trip to the NBA Finals.

But if he landed in Chicago, Toronto, Atlanta, Boston or in Los Angeles with the Clippers, he’ll have a chance.

It’s something Carmelo should think about because you know Jackson and Fisher already have.

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phil jackson ,

carmelo anthony ,

new york knicks ,

derek fisher ,

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