Knicks Bulletin: ‘Welcome to the big time’

Don’t sleep or you’ll miss this All-Star thing!

The All-Star weekend got going on Friday with the Celebrity Game and a bunch of rookies, sophomores, and the one-and-only-still-draftable Dink Pate taking over the San Francisco hardwood.

That wasn’t the biggest thing going on yesterday, however, as Knicks legend Carmelo Anthony and a few pals got named finalists to crash the Hall of Fame as part of the 2025 Class of nominees. Let’s go!

Here’s the latest from Coach Thibs and a few other Knicks.

Karl-Anthony Towns

On appreciating his All-Star selection and career:

“I tried my best in my career to be appreciative of these moments. This is something I’ve learned as my career has gone on, a decade in. I make it a point to appreciate these moments as they come, because you never know what life has.

When I was younger, I felt like I was very invincible, that nothing would happen. Then injuries came along in my career, which I had never dealt with my entire life.

“It humbled me, slowed me down and allowed me to appreciate these moments, because you never know what life has in store.”

Jalen Brunson

On the Knicks and Nets trading for the first time in decades:

“I feel like the Mikael trade was the Knicks and Nets one have never traded to each other since like 1980 prior to this, something like that.

“So there’s like I feel like it was like a New York tax straight up. Like you want him, you want that continuity from the guys that he obviously is boys with.”

Josh Hart

On the perception of the Knicks having overpaid for Mikal Bridges and how that impacted the Karl-Anthony Towns trade:

“It’s also like, you made that trade to also have the door open to the KAT trade. Say you made that same Mikael trade, but instead of offering I think they got Bojan the five picks whatever, instead of that you put Donte in that, or you put someone else in that with value, and you don’t trade those five picks, then you still have to try to have enough stuff for the KAT trade.

“And it’s like Minnesota, they wanted ‘Te, like ‘Te was hooping last year. So you make that trade not just as an isolated trade.”

On Towns’ flashy passing:

“KAT is KAT. That’s all I got to say.”

Kendrick Perkins (Former NBA Player)

On the Knicks as a championship contender:

“The Knicks are a legit threat. The huge X-factor, if they happen to face the Boston Celtics or the Cleveland Cavaliers, is OG Anunoby. I believe that he is a 2025 version of Scottie Pippen, the way he’s been balling this year. Doing it on both ends of the floor.

“You talk about [Jalen] Brunson being in the MVP conversation. Karl-Anthony Towns is right there as well. And we’re starting to see Tom Thibodeau go a little deeper into his bench.

“Come April, we’ll see the best of this New York Knicks.”

Pat Riley (Miami Heat Overlord)

On Carmelo Anthony’s career:

“He’s one of the great players, ever. Really. A tough guard. Can shoot. Good size. Athletic. And carried a franchise in Denver for a long time, went to New York. Always a tough cover, so you had to game-plan for him every night. And had a great career.

“I think from the standpoint of what they call small forwards, he wasn’t just that. He can play small forward, sure. He can play power forward. Back then, we were more positional. He could play the 2-guard. Today, he’d be playing 5. That’s just the way the game has grown. But he deserves it. I hope he makes it.”

On Carmelo Anthony embracing being a franchise player:

“Welcome to the big time. So you have to accept it. You can’t run away from it.

“I think he always accepted that. It was probably frustrating for him at times because he didn’t win in some of those years.

“When you’re the face of the franchise, there’s great expectations. And I think that’s part of what the Hall of Fame is about.

“I think they take that into account. Doesn’t make any difference—John Stockton, Karl Malone, Carmelo, Charles Barkley. They had the pressure on them all the time. And they’re all Hall of Famers. Did they win the chip? No. But it didn’t make any difference. They’re being recognized for what they did in their careers.”

On whether he feared the Melo-led Knicks in the 2013 playoffs:

“When you get that far, in 2013, with LeBron and D-Wade and Chris Bosh and Shane Battier and Ray Allen—I’ll take my chances.”

Jerry Colangelo (USA Basketball Legend)

On Carmelo Anthony’s success in international basketball:

“He was cut out to be a great international player. The nuances of the international game, the 3-point distance is a little bit less. The pace of the game was perfect for him. And with his great skill of scoring, we went to him a lot.

“He had the ability to shoot anytime he wanted to, because most of the time, he’s going to score. He had a few games where, in my mind, he didn’t miss any shots. Loved his competitiveness. He was great in our system. I think he made other people better. And he was committed all the way.”