Carmelo Anthony Shut Down For Season? Knicks Star Quits On New York, Or Phil Jackson Planning Trade?

Is Carmelo Anthony trying to force his way out of New York with a trade? With reports surfacing that the Knicks star was willing to waive the no-trade clause in his mammoth five year, $124 million contract he signed in the off season, rumors are still swirling whether Carmelo will want to stay long term while the team is in disarray. With the 5-21 Knicks struggling, and Melo dealing with a knee complaint, reports say the team could feasibly look at shutting down Carmelo. And as if to show just how weird everything surrounding Carmelo is at the moment, he was at the center of Walmart bizarrely trying to pass of Jeremy Lin 'Linsanity' dolls as Carmelo ones... after he fronted the media after the team's last game looking like a beloved '90s cartoon character.

Melo lookin like Darkwing Duck tonight pic.twitter.com/NKeQzDPrdC

— Logan Rhoades (@LoganRhoades) December 15, 2014

Hats and dolls aside, with Carmelo telling ESPN that he's contemplating getting surgery to deal with a troublesome knee, the site reports that the star's "daily status basically depends on how his knee feels that day". Said Carmelo: "I'll get out every day, try to do some stuff, try to see how it feels, and then if it gets to a point where I just can't do it then I'll consider kind of sitting out maybe a week or two weeks or something like that."

Carmelo also had to bat down suggestions he was trying to force his way out of the Big Apple and is open to waiving his no-trade clause. After a New York Post report last week, the forward - who's averaging 23.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game - refuted the claims, saying it was a media beat up.

According to Newsday Carmelo said that when a team is going through adversity, that's the natural way people react. It "comes with the territory," he said, adding that the "cure to all of this is winning, and that's what we have to do, win some basketball games."

He went on to point out how bad it would look if he left New York, saying "Come on, man. After all the work I did to get here and get back here, if I was to get up and want to leave now, that would just make me weak, make me have a weak mind."

Oh man. Trade him to the Lakers and let's all watch the circus together. https://t.co/S9eLjdYBG3

— Zach Harper (@talkhoops) December 12, 2014

But perhaps a trade is the best option for all involved. Says James Herbert of CBS Sports "Realistically, if Anthony was presented with the option to go somewhere else -- somewhere he could win -- then he would have to consider it. To not to do would be crazy."

As CBS's John Schmeelk says, "one thing is slowly becoming clear: it's less and less likely that Anthony will be part of the final solution for the Knicks."

SB Nation's Paul Flannery says the problems with the Knicks are endemic, adding that the Knicks might be better off moving on from the Carmelo era, saying that the franchise have "never been able to accept that being bad is a means to an end. There have been quick-fixes, flashy trades and a parade of saviors who would somehow circumvent the time-honored process of rebuilding by producing quick results without the pain."

And just to punch home how bizarre everything surrounding Carmelo is right now, the superstar also apparently caused WalMart some holiday headaches after they seemingly tried to pass off surplus Jeremy Lin Knicks dolls as Carmelo, according to Complex Mag and The Bleacher Report.

Walmart's Carmelo Anthony doll looks suspiciously like Jeremy Lin https://t.co/nxUvisyBif — Tom Lutz (@tom_lutz) December 15, 2014

Does this look like Carmelo Anthony to you, Walmart? https://t.co/EOoH0FJpSE pic.twitter.com/5mMyVzn30a

— Complex (@ComplexMag) December 15, 2014

Whoops.