Carmelo Anthony has long said his preferred destination was the New York Knicks, but it looks like a deal sending him to the New Jersey Nets is close to fruition (‘Melo may love New York but apparently what he loves more is the $10 million or so he would likely give up going there as a free agent under a new Collective Bargaining Agreement).
How does the Knicks current star Amar’e Stoudemire feel about missing out on another star? A former teammate told the New York Daily News — anonymously, of course — Stoudemire is just fine with it.“Amar’e will embrace any teammate, but if it were up to him, I know he’d rather just see the Knicks stay the way they are,” says a former Suns teammate, who requested anonymity.
“Amar’e likes being the guy. He likes the players that are around him. I know he’s thinking, ‘Why would we want to change this?’
“I don’t think he’s going to be that upset if the Knicks don’t get Carmelo, I’ll tell you that.”
If the Knicks are to really compete in the East, they are going to need to get another star to go with Stoudemire. But Anthony — he of the high volume of contested shots — may not be the best fit. Someone like Chris Paul makes more sense, but he’s not available until the summer of 2012 (the league owns the Hornets right now and is not going to trade him). So the Knicks are being patient.
Which is apparently fine with Stoudemire.
