Here’s New York Newsday exploring the future of Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks:
The Knicks hope to re-sign Carmelo Anthony this summer. But if he were to leave all that extra money on the table to go to the Bulls or another team, it could be a blessing in disguise for the Knicks, according to a former NBA general manager.
“I really think if Carmelo left them, he may be doing them a favor,” said the ex-GM, who has no ties to the Knicks. “They probably don’t see it that way. But in the long run, it’s probably doing them a favor.”
The logic is that it would give the Knicks a chance to rebuild. They’ll have a boatload of cap space in the summer of 2015 — when Amar’e Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler and Andrea Bargnani are scheduled to come off the books and Rajon Rondo, Kevin Love and LaMarcus Aldridge could hit the open market — and a first-round draft pick.
The likely result would be another lean season in 2014-15, but the source — who has rebuilt teams before — thinks it could turn around quickly. “New York is the greatest city in the world and the Garden is the best place to play basketball,” he said. “Guys want to go to play in New York. It’s going to hurt for a little bit. But if you have cap space, it’s not going to be that hard to get a good player to come to New York.”
