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 Anthony, who finished the 2013-14 NBA season second on the
scoring list with an average of 27.4 points a game and was one of
the few bright spots in New York's 37-45 campaign, could declare
himself a free agent on July 1.
"I'd like to appeal to his better nature about winning," Jackson
told reporters at the Knicks practice center. "That's the beginning
of team play."
Jackson, the Hall of Fame coach who won a record 11 NBA titles in
charge of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, came out of
retirement last month to run the Knicks, the team he broke in with
as a player.
On Monday, he made a big move to put his stamp on the operation by
firing head coach Mike Woodson and the entire coaching staff after
the team failed to reach the playoffs.
Jackson, 68, promised a shake-up of the roster after the last game
of the season, but he made it clear he would like to rebuild with
Anthony, who has said he would consider taking less than a maximum
salary if it helped to assemble a winning team.
The new Knicks chief has his sales pitch all worked out.
"There's some obvious examples that are out there that I could point
to," said Jackson, mentioning Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs
and the Miami Heat's Big Three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and
Chris Bosh as players who took less money in order to surround
themselves with better teammates.
"A precedent has been set. The way things are structured now
financially for teams, it's really hard to just have one or two top
stars, or max players, and put together a team with enough talent.
"You've got to have people making sacrifices financially. So we hope
Carmelo is true to his word ... and we'll present that to him at
that time."
Seven-time All-Star Anthony, who turns 30 next month, could make
nearly $130 million on a five-year contract from the Knicks if given
a maximum salary. If he signed with another team, the maximum he
could get is just under $96 million for four years.
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As far as his coaching search, Jackson said he planned to talk with
Steve Kerr, a TV broadcast analyst and former Phoenix Suns general
manager, who won three NBA titles as a player under Jackson in
Chicago.
Jackson said he approached Kerr last year when he thought he might
be hiring a coach as head of basketball operations for a possible
team in Seattle that did not pan out, and has kept in touch since.
"We had another conversation, a breakfast in January this year in
which we talked about styles of coaching. We are in very similar space about coaching in a lot of ways. Philosophically we
have a strong connection," said Jackson.
"Whether he's able to take a job like this, I don't know. I'll be
having a conversation with him later on this month and talk to him
about it and see where he's at about his desire to coach."
(Reporting by Larry Fine; editing by Frank Pingue)
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