Carmelo Anthony nixes rumor: 'Phil ain't coaching no more'
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Carmelo Anthony doesn't believe Phil Jackson is going to coach the New York Knicks any time soon.
"Phil ain't coaching no more man," Anthony said after Tuesday's practice. "So let's dead that rumor. Phil ain't coaching no more."
In a story about Jackson and former coach Derek Fisher, ESPN's Ramona Shelburne reported that there has been talk of Jackson coaching home games next season and interim coach Kurt Rambis coaching road games.
"No. No. No. I don't think that should be accepted," Anthony said when asked about the premise. "I wouldn't accept that if that was the case. Phil is cool, man. He don't need to be on the sidelines no more. He put so many years into this game. He's cool. He don't need to be on the sideline.
"I don't think he's thinking about coming back down on the sideline. I hope not. Let him ride on out. Let him sit out and be the president."
Rambis, who served as an assistant coach under Jackson with the Lakers, said on Tuesday that he has never gotten the sense that Jackson wants to coach the Knicks.
"Coaching's a grind, and I don't see him ... he's never given me an indication that he wants to," Rambis said.
Rambis said he and Jackson haven't discussed the idea of co-coaching the Knicks. The Knicks will have a coaching vacancy this offseason, and Jackson last week gave Rambis a strong endorsement as a candidate for the job, saying Rambis is "perfectly capable" of coaching the Knicks full-time.
Anthony offered his thoughts on New York's coaching situation Tuesday, saying Rambis deserves a chance to win the job but that Jackson should also think about other candidates.
"I think you consider Kurt at that job. He brought Kurt here for that reason -- if anything was to happen and the situation is here for him now," Anthony said. "I think it's just more of seeing how Kurt handles the situation right now, how the team does, how the team responds to Kurt. But I think you still have to at least listen to other candidates out there."
