The battle lines now appear to be drawn in Madison Square Garden. On one side: New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony. On the other: team president of basketball operations Phil Jackson, whose public comments -- and those by Jackson associate Charley Rosen -- have led Anthony to consider his future with the Knicks.
"If they feel my time in New York is over, I guess that's a conversation we should have," Anthony said Sunday.
According to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, that meeting took place Tuesday. The meeting, originally described as contentious, but later modified to more substantive than previous sit-downs between Jackson and Anthony, with Jackson asking whether Anthony wants to stay with the Knicks and Anthony saying yes.
If the Knicks ultimately have to choose between Anthony and Jackson, what should they do? Jackson's five-year contract has a mutual opt-out at the end of this season, meaning the Knicks can let him go. Does it make sense to keep the legendary coach as team president?
The case for Jackson returning
You mean besides Kristaps Porzingis? In drafting Porzingis, Jackson changed the trajectory of the Knicks franchise for the next decade. The 21-year-old Latvian is the best homegrown prospect in New York since Patrick Ewing, and Jackson certainly deserves credit for that.
Of course, it's unwise to read too much into one move. Had the Philadelphia 76ers decided to take Porzingis (instead of Jahlil Okafor), the Knicks never would have had the chance to draft him. At the same time, the decision to take Porzingis tells us several things about Jackson's decision-making process above and beyond making the right call on one player.
For one, Jackson showed the willingness to trust his scouts -- specifically, Clarence Gaines Jr., who touted Porzingis' merits after watching him play in Spain. Beyond that, Jackson showed he would make what was at the time an unpopular pick and do so on the basis of long-term potential rather than immediate returns.
More generally, Jackson has put renewed emphasis on the draft in New York. Maybe that was inevitable after a string of traded picks came back to haunt the Knicks -- you'll recall that before Jackson's arrival, owner James Dolan reportedly vetoed a trade sending out a pick for Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry because he was afraid he might get fleeced again, as in the previous acquisition of Andrea Bargnani.
Still, under Jackson, New York has held on to its first-round picks. The 2013 Bargnani trade -- made under a previous regime -- cost the Knicks their 2016 pick, but now the Knicks finally control all their future first-rounders going forward.
Jackson has also paid attention to the second round of the draft, acquiring extra second-round picks as throw-ins in trades with the Chicago Bulls and Dallas Mavericks. Those extra picks helped allow New York to send a pair of future second-rounders to the Philadelphia 76ers in 2015 in exchange for the rights to No. 35 pick Willy Hernangomez, who has proven a useful backup on a cheap contract after coming to the NBA this season.
While the Knicks' other second-rounders (Cleanthony Early, Thanasis Antetokounmpo and Louis Labeyrie) have yet to pay dividends, stockpiling these picks and hoping to get lucky with a few of them is the right approach and one New York rarely took in the past.
The case against Jackson returning
Jackson's patient, long-term approach to drafting Porzingis contrasts with his approach this past offseason. Given the choice between building around Porzingis and focusing on the timetable of 32-year-old Carmelo Anthony, Jackson chose the latter, signing 31-year-old Joakim Noah to a four-year contract.
It's tough to tell how much pressure, if any, Jackson got from ownership to win now. Melo made his wishes known, and in 28-year-old Derrick Rose, the Knicks got a player young enough to be part of the roster for the foreseeable future if he can get his career back on track after knee injuries derailed it. Admittedly, that turn of events appears less likely after Rose went AWOL for a game last week.
The Noah contract looks like an albatross as well. Having battled a series of injuries with the Bulls, Noah is moving poorly and averaging only 23.0 minutes per game. Given his age, Noah's production figures to decline while his salary increases over the remaining three seasons of the deal.
More generally, Jackson hasn't been able to leverage his championship success on the sidelines into the kind of recruiting in free agency that Knicks supporters hoped for when he returned to New York. Unlike rival Pat Riley, Jackson hasn't been able to attract top free agents.
Nor have Jackson's relationships with Steve Kerr and Luke Walton been enough to convince them to sign on with the Knicks as coaches, forcing New York to settle for alternatives Derek Fisher (who lasted less than two seasons) and Jeff Hornacek.
On the player market, the Knicks resorted to short-term stopgaps in the summer of 2015. Last summer, Noah wasn't among the top free agents available. Jackson didn't even get a meeting with the best of them, Kevin Durant, before Durant signed with the Golden State Warriors.
It's possible to have success in free agency without landing a marquee superstar. New York's summer of 2015 contrasted that of the Portland Trail Blazers, who quietly rebuilt with young talent on friendly contracts (forward Al-Farouq Aminu and center Ed Davis) after losing their own star, LaMarcus Aldridge.
Because the Knicks were still thinking about the big score, they didn't take advantage of the solid buys available in 2015 free agency before the NBA salary cap jumped up last summer. Center Robin Lopez -- since dealt to the Chicago Bulls as part of the package for Rose -- was the only starter New York signed to a long-term deal. Two other free agents the Knicks signed, guard Arron Afflalo and forward Derrick Williams, exercised player options to return to free agency last summer.
New York took a more realistic approach in 2016, locking into long-term deals -- though at last summer's inflated prices -- for Noah (four years, $72 million) and shooting guard Courtney Lee (four years, $48 million). While the Knicks could create cap space again this summer, it would be swallowed up by a new contract for Rose, an unrestricted free agent who's posted mediocre numbers this season.
Jackson has also shown a troubling tendency to sell low on his own talent. His first big move at the helm in New York was dealing starting center Tyson Chandler for a worse contract (Jose Calderon) and a prospect (Shane Larkin) who didn't pan out. Subsequently, Jackson gave up young wing Iman Shumpert to shed the contract of shooting guard J.R. Smith, who subsequently opted out of what proved a below-market deal.
The verdict: Jackson not worth the trouble
This flap with Anthony is just the latest example of Jackson becoming a distraction to the Knicks. It comes in the wake of Jackson angering LeBron James with his use of the word "posse" and a previous incident when Jackson criticized Anthony for holding the ball too much.
Such dust-ups might be overlooked if New York were winning, but despite drafting Porzingis, Jackson seems to have the Knicks no closer to playoff contention than they were when he arrived nearly three years ago.
About the only case for Jackson at this point is that driving off Anthony by persuading him to waive his no-trade clause would probably help New York in the long run. The Knicks could benefit from adding picks and young prospects to build around Porzingis. Still, even if that came to pass, Jackson hasn't shown enough to be trusted with rebuilding the franchise.
Honestly, the best long-term plan for New York might include neither Anthony nor Jackson. But if it's actually a choice between the two, keeping Anthony is the right choice.