It is realistic to think that Carmelo Anthony is delaying his free agency decision to see if there is any possibility that he can play alongside LeBron James. It is not realistic, however, to think that it will actually happen. That doesn’t mean Phil Jackson isn’t giving it his best shot.
According to Marc Berman of the New York Post, Anthony’s “dream” is to play in New York with LeBron next season. While calling that a longshot would be an understatement, Jackson is reportedly exploring ways to move the expiring contracts of Amar’e Stoudemire and Andrea Bargnani.
One report said Jackson conceivably can move $40 million under the cap with a flurry of moves — as long as he doesn’t take back salary.
“He really wants LeBron to come to New York,” the source said. “That’s his dream right now. Phil is trying to get it done.”
Jackson probably wants to move Stoudemire’s and Bargnani’s contracts if he can anyway, so that doesn’t necessarily mean he is exploring trade possibilities just to make a run at LeBron. Jackson said on draft night that while the Knicks are limited by their salary cap situation, he would not rule out a “chance to do something special.”
Earlier this week, Berman reported that Anthony is delaying his decision to see if there is a possibility that he and James could play together with the Miami Heat. The Knicks are said to be willing to give Carmelo a max contract of five years and $129 million, but he would have to take much less than that to play with LeBron in New York.
These whacky Carmelo-LeBron scenarios sure are fun to talk about, but there’s about a 1% chance of any of them actually coming to fruition.
