The NY Knicks are coming into the offseason with Carmelo Anthony as the major priority and now that he is a target for the Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat and Houston Rockets as well as the Dallas Mavericks, the Knicks and head coach Derek Fisher will do their best to keep Melo and a trade with Tyson Chandler, Raymond Felton or Amar'e Stoudemire could be in the future for Phil Jackson and New York.
Anthony is coming into the offseason as a major target and according to ESPN.com, the Miami Heat now are in the mix with the Dallas Mavericks, NY Knicks, Houston Rockets and Chicago Bulls. The Miami Heat could make a run if the Big 3 opt out and then sign back and that has to terrify NY fans, because the Heat can do it. James has sway and while the team can't officially talk to Melo until July 1, LeBron James could start the work already.
The Knicks have some major questions heading into the offseason and the future development of the team could hinge on what happens with Anthony. The Knicks would be able to survive without Anthony because they have money and will find a way to sign players, but losing him would be tough simply because the Knicks blew up their team and their future to trade for him in the first place. Anthony has every right to be a free agent if he wants to and that still allows the Knicks to sign him back and they have an advantage since they can give him the most amount of years and the highest dollar amount as well.
Anthony has options in the Bulls and Rockets as well as the Mavericks and at this point in his career he may not care as much about money and that could hurt the Knicks. Adding Derek Fisher was a good move, as he is a winner and is someone that could convince Anthony to stay, but with LeBron James potentially in the other ear, the Knicks will have to battle the Miami Heat as well. ESPN.com reports that James and the team could chase Anthony to form a Big 4 and that they have had discussions about it. Anthony and James are friends and hey, if you can't beat em, join em.
The Knicks went just 37-45 last season and they started off 3-13 on the year and that basically took them out of the playoff hunt and now they have to find a way to build it back. Jackson has said that players could be traded and Raymond Felton looks like he is gone, while Tyson Chandler may get moved so that the team has more room to sign players. The team may also look at players like Pau Gasol or Andrew Bynum from Phil's Laker days after already snagging Lamar Odom. The Knicks are trying to rebound and Fisher said that he is trying to bring back that championship mentality to the city and he could be the man to do it.
