Carmelo Anthony’s free agent decision was expected to have come already, after narrowing his choices down to the Lakers, Bulls, and of course, the Knicks.
But he’s waited longer than expected, perhaps due to holding out some measure of hope that he could end up teaming with LeBron James in Miami -- or maybe even New York.
Yes, the latest report has Anthony dreaming of bringing LeBron to the Knicks -- a scenario that is beyond unlikely, for a variety of very good reasons.
From Marc Berman of the New York Post:According to a friend of Anthony’s, Melo has held out faint hope Knicks president Phil Jackson can pull a miracle and clear out the necessary salary-cap space to get it done, but he is running out of time. Anthony’s decision could come in the next couple of days. ...
“He really wants LeBron to come to New York,’’ the source said. “That’s his dream right now. Phil is trying to get it done.’’ ...
“He didn’t want no part of New York in 2010,’’ the source said. “But he loves Phil and the chance to play with Melo.’’
To be fair, this piece does lay out just how far-fetched that is, and states pretty clearly that it’s essentially not happening.
The Knicks would have to unload the horrendous contracts of Andrea Bargnani and Amar’e Stoudemire without taking back any salary in return for starters, and then Anthony and James would still need to both take less than the max to somehow make it all work.
Dreams are nice, but reality is what we’re forced to deal with, which is this: Anthony and James ending up as teammates when all of this is said and done isn’t at all likely, and barely even seems possible.