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5 low moments from Carmelo's tenure with the Knicks

USA Today Sports

At long last, the working relationship between Carmelo Anthony and his hometown New York Knicks appears to have been severed, with the 10-time All-Star reportedly waiving his no-trade clause to facilitate a move to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

His six-and-a-half-year run in the Big Apple has had its high points, yet all anyone will likely remember is how ugly things got over the past few seasons. Anthony was consistently a hot topic, yet rarely for reasons befitting of someone with his talent.

This walk down memory lane chronicles just how bad it got, and why both parties are surely better off going their separate ways:

Butting heads with the Zen Master

Anthony and former team president Phil Jackson were like oil and water.

Related: Phil Jackson on Melo trade: 'I hope it works out well for both parties'

It didn't help that Jackson publicly called out his star scorer for being a ball hog - a comment Anthony responded to through social media. Then there was Jackson's insistence on the Knicks adopting the triangle offense, which no one on the roster was particularly fond of.

Ultimately, Anthony can hold his head high knowing he at least outlasted the legendary figure, which is itself a moral victory.

That block ...

It wasn't that long ago that New York had a 54-win 2012-13 campaign and advanced to the second round of the playoffs, vying for a shot to take on the new-look Miami Heat.

This vicious stuff at the rim by center Roy Hibbert in Game 6 sent the Knicks on a downward spiral, kicking off a 9-0 run late in the fourth quarter that sealed the deal for the Indiana Pacers in a 4-2 series closeout, ending Anthony's best opportunity at leading his squad to the promised land.

There was plenty of time left on the clock, and the Knicks did have the lead at this point, which further illustrates how demoralizing the rejection was.

The problem with 'Linsanity'

When Jeremy Lin was the talk of the town in 2011-12, some of his teammates (cough, Carmelo, cough) weren't receptive to him being viewed as the face of the Knicks, especially so quickly.

Anthony was sidelined for a good chunk of this stretch and had to watch as Lin's popularity skyrocketed. Ex-Knicks head coach Mike D'Antoni later revealed that Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire were averse to adapting to a style of attack that complemented Lin's, which was proving to be fruitful.

Suffice it to say, Anthony didn't shed any tears when Lin departed to ink a deal with the Houston Rockets.

2015 knee surgery

Anthony's priorities were all out of whack in 2015, as he pushed through the pain in a sore left knee so he could serve as a starter in the All-Star Game. He even missed two of New York's three prior outings to help allow him to do so, although he'd deny such allegations.

Was it all worth it? Anthony missed 14 of his 20 shots from the field during the exhibition, suiting up for a surprising 30 minutes of action before opting to go under the knife for a patella tendon debridement and repair.

The surgery cost him all remaining games, and the Knicks finished with their worst record in franchise history at 17-65. His scoring output and shooting percentages have taken a hit in the two years since then.

'Honey Nut Cheerios'

"Your wife ... tastes like Honey Nut Cheerios," Kevin Garnett reportedly uttered to Anthony during a 2013 Celtics-Knicks contest.

Rather than ignore the trashing-talking big man, Anthony lost his cool and was prepared to throw down, going as far as yelling at Garnett outside of Boston's locker room and then waiting at the team's bus to confront him.

His actions earned him a one-game suspension, while bringing into question Anthony's maturity.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

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