Knicks say Anthony's status 'up to him,' All-Star Game important

The New York Knicks are apparently the cool parent willing to let their child learn through making mistakes rather than protecting them from themselves.

Mileage may vary with that as a parenting strategy, but it's probably not the best way to handle a basketball superstar on a maximum contract. Yet, here are the Knicks, allowing Carmelo Anthony to decide his own status amid ongoing left knee soreness that may or may not ultimately require surgery.

Anthony is missing his sixth consecutive game and 10th of the season due to the issue on Saturday, but there has been no indication he's close to shutting it down for the season. Ending his 2014-15 early, with his team at 5-34, would make plenty of sense, putting the Knicks in a better position not only for a top pick, but for a better 2015-16 with a fully healthy Anthony.

"That has to be up to him," team president Phil Jackson said Saturday when asked if the team would shut Anthony down. "I know the All-Star Game is important to him."

It seems an incredibly risky strategy to let the player dictate his own status. The Knicks learned this lesson the hard way once already this year when Amar'e Stoudemire was insistent he play on a scheduled rest day on Dec. 18. He's appeared in just one game since and remains on the shelf.

"We had to let him take his own course," Jackson said.

Anthony wields some power in the organization and doesn't seem to want to sit the season out, so it appears he may continue playing. The Knicks play in London, England on Thursday, and there's been no mention of Anthony's status for that global showcase.

Beyond that, if he wants to add an eighth All-Star appearance to his resume, he may not even need to play anymore. He's third among Eastern Conference forwards in voting and has an appreciable cushion for a starting spot. 

The game is still more than a month away, on Feb. 15, so if Anthony really does have his heart set on playing - understandable given it's being held at Madison Square Garden - expect another month-plus of daily status updates.