Charles Oakley on Knicks' Carmelo Anthony: 'Is he still a superstar?'

Charles Oakley is not sure that the New York Knicks can secure a championship with Carmelo Anthony leading the team. 

Anthony has been the best part of the Knicks' squad, averaging 24.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists before undergoing knee debridement surgery that ended his season. And while he'll be back to help New York rebound from finishing with the second-worst record in the league this season (17-65), he has admitted he'll never be at 100 percent again.

"Is he still a superstar or is he going to be a complimentary player?" the former Knicks power forward Oakley said during an event on Tuesday, according to the New York Post's Zach Braziller. "You win (17) games, I don’t know. He made the All-Star game. He played on the All-Star team, but he didn’t play during the season."

Many speculated that Anthony took games off to save himself and his health to play in the All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden, in which he appeared for 30 minutes. The small forward called that suggestion "absurd."

Chauncey Billups has said that Anthony is not a vocal leader, but more of a lead-by-example type of player, suggesting that the Knicks have "got to find another guy to make speeches, and another guy to do most of the leading." 

Still, Anthony is tethered to New York after signing a five-year, $124-million deal last summer.  

However, Oakley stressed that the high salary does not define his status in the league. 

"I didn't give him the contract," said Oakley. "He won a championship at Syracuse. What's the potential? They give a lot of people $100 million."