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Carmelo says he won't ever be 100 percent, briefly questioned decision to stay with Knicks

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Call it a quick second-guess or a moment of clarity.

Carmelo Anthony said Thursday that he briefly questioned his decision to stay with the New York Knicks this season, a debacle of Gotham-esque proportions in which he was shut down for knee surgery in the midst of a 17-65 finish.

During the Knicks' exit interviews Thursday, Anthony said he couldn't help but think about the decision after the fact, according to Ian Begley of ESPN:

I try to keep myself from thinking like that. But as a human being, those thoughts definitely come into play. You sit down at night and you're thinking, "Did I really make the right decision?" and just things like that. Not often did I think about that. There was one point in time this season where it was just cloudy and I didn't really have any clarity; I was second-guessing what I did and the decision I made. But after that, I was smooth sailing.

Anthony re-upped with the Knicks last offseason to the tune of five years and $124 million. It became clear quite quickly that the team was atrocious, and Anthony opted to shut things down and undergo knee debridement surgery in February.

On the topic of that left knee procedure, Anthony - who will be 31 in May - said Thursday that he will likely never be 100 percent again. 

"I don't think I'll ever be 100 percent, but as far as being fully recovered, injury-free, I'll be at that point."

This isn't likely to instill confidence in any Knicks fans, but for what it's worth, Anthony says he's on board with team president Phil Jackson's plan. 

I didn't lose any faith in Phil ... the moves that he made, once he started explaining to me behind closed doors about what was going on, his thought process behind everything, it started to make sense. So I don't second guess any of that. For me to have faith in him and believe in his capabilities and what he can do is kind of like a clean slate for us and for him. Now we really get a chance and he really gets a chance to put a stamp on what we wants this organization to be about, what he wants this team to be about, what players he wants in here. This is the time he steps up to the plate.

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