The NY Knicks have some major questions this offseason surrounding Carmelo Anthony and to get a deal done the team may have to trade players, including Tyson Chandler to the Dallas Mavericks and that is looking like it's going through, Raymond Felton, Iman Shumpert and Amar'e Stoudemire and that decision comes as free agency is around the corner and names like Patty Mills, Kyle Lowry and Pau Gasol could be potential targets for the team to sign this summer.
According to ESPN.com, the Knicks are hoping to bring back Anthony and add more players in free agency to start building a championship roster and two players that could be in the mix include Pau Gasol and Patty Mills. The Spurs guard is a free agent and Mills is coming off of a very solid playoffs run and now that he has the chance to cash in, he likely will be leaving San Antonio and the Knicks appear to be a destination for him. Gasol has connections to Phil Jackson and he could be a nice fit if he opts to leave the west coast and Los Angeles.
The Knicks brought in Derek fisher and Anthony said he liked that move, but it may not be enough to get him back. The Knicks may look at trades this offseason and money tied to Tyson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Iman Shumpert and Andrea Bargnani could lead to those players getting dealt. The Knicks and Jackson have some major decisions to make and Anthony is the center of it all, as the team traded for him three years ago with a big package to the Nuggets and now they risk losing him.
The Knicks come into the offseason after missing the playoffs and they have a main priority in signing Carmelo Anthony back if he opts out of his contract and everyone expects him to make that move. The Knicks went just 37-45 last season and that came after the team started off 3-13 and that basically ended any chance for the team to make the playoffs. The east was terrible and the team won 10 games in a row, but it was not good enough to make it into the playoffs and now Jackson is tasked with turning things around.
Last season Anthony missed the playoffs for the first time in his career and that is never a good way to enter free agency and he could use that as a reason to sign elsewhere. The Rockets and the Bulls are making strong pushes for Anthony and there are reports that the Miami Heat wants to bring him in as well. Melo to the Heat is very intriguing, but it likely is impossible since so many things need to happen for that to go through. All three of the Big 3 of James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh would need to opt out and re-sign at discounted rates and Melo would have to the same, potentially leaving $60 million on the table. That is some life changing money and while Anthony has made a ton of money and has endorsements, this is his last chance to sign a mega contract and he may not want to leave that on the table.