The New York Lakers?
As the clock runs down the New York Knicks are in work mode as they try to figure out ways to re-sign Carmelo Anthony. Anthony made it clear that winning is the most important thing to him which means the Knicks need to put proper pieces around him in order to entice him to stay. That’s a very difficult task considering the Knicks are cap strapped and there’s very few things they can do to fix it. New president Phil Jackson however isn’t taking the task lightly and has already traded Raymond Felton and Tyson Chandler for Jose Calderon, Samuel Dalembert, Shane Larkin and two second round draft picks that resulted in Cleanthony Early and Thanasis Antetokounmpo. Now his latest move is reportedly to bring in Pau Gasol, joining coach Derek Fisher as one of his former players now with the Knicks.
via ESPNNewYork.com
Sources told ESPN.com that Knicks officials, while not willing to trumpet it publicly with free agency fast approaching, are quietly confident about their odds of retaining Anthony thanks in part to the idea that new team president Phil Jackson and the high-scoring forward have “connected” to some degree.
Furthermore, one source close to the process told ESPN.com’s Ramona Shelburne that Jackson is planning to make a determined attempt to try to recruit his former Los Angeles Lakers center Pau Gasol to replace the freshly traded Tyson Chandler alongside Anthony on the Knicks’ front line, despite the fact New York is limited to offering Gasol less than $4 million for next season.
Now getting an oft injured forward doesn’t exactly sound like the key to keeping Carmelo Anthony. Gasol does still have something left in the tank but not enough to provide the type of help the Knicks will need. Jackson is supposed to introduce a new regime but this follows the Knicks old protocol of going after major players once they’re on the downside of their career. If it does happen we’ll have to see it helps retain Anthony who will be making his decision in the second week of July.
– Shaina Auxilly (@Shay_Marie)
