New York Knicks Rumors: Phil Jackson Wants Carmelo Anthony Out? Zen Master Has Accepted The Reality That Melo Will Go! Knicks Prepared To Move On Without Their Superstar!

The New York Knicks are on the hot seat again. They have a disgruntled superstar and are bound to be the laughing stock of the league when Carmelo Anthony leaves. But the joke may be on the rest of the NBA. There were signs that the Zen Master was plotting, or at least preparing for a Melo departure!

ESPN had an interview with Phil, with the nagging question of Melo's free agency during the playoffs. Phil had his Zen answer:

"I'm all about moving forward. Just deal with what is and move forward. If it's in the cards, man are we fortunate. If it's not in the cards, man are we fortunate. We're going forward anyway."

Another sign was when he traded away Tyson Chandler, the one piece that would convince Melo to stay and also known as Anthony's buddy on the team. Carmelo wants to win NOW, but Jackson just sacrificed the present for future moves!

Critics have often noticed how he played mind games with Melo and how Melo didn't bite. It seemed like a half-hearted way to court a superstar, but then again, Phil Jackson was always above his star players. He would never do cartwheels for his top player, not even when it was Michael Jordan.

It can be argued that it was exactly the reason why the Knicks hired Phil Jackson. It was not to keep Carmelo Anthony but to build AFTER he leaves.

What should the Knicks do if Anthony leaves?

The curious suggestion from Dave McMenamin of ESPN LA:

"They try to build the Spanish national team at Madison Square Garden. They already traded for Jose Calderon. The next step would be to persuade Pau Gasol to come for one season on the cheap, with a promise to renegotiate the following summer with a more generous deal. Once you have Jose and Pau, then Marc Gasol becomes the Knicks' top free-agent target in the summer of 2015. If it works, Phil Jackson will have a team with a core that has familiarity and continuity right off the bat despite being slapped together so quickly."

That's all possible, and would give the Knicks an entirely new image. They were known as the team with 'selfish overpaid chuckers' like JR Smith, Raymond Felton and Andrea Bargnani. The Spanish team will be efficient, smooth and as close to the San Antonio Spurs championship brand of basketball as you can have.

Is that what Phil has in mind?