alanhahn
Amar'e, Tony Parker and . . . Carmelo? Source says Melo won't sign extension. Desperate Knicks keeping close tabs:http://bit.ly/9IRrSE

CHICAGO - The Knicks appear to be close to securing their first significant addition in this summer's free-agency sweepstakes. Though it isn't LeBron James , it is an All-Star, Amar'e Stoudemire, whom the Knicks hope might entice James or at least help jump-start their long-awaited rebuilding process.

And if all else fails, the Knicks are preparing contingency plans that could include a run at Carmelo Anthony well before he becomes a free agent in 2011.

Stoudemire has yet to make his scheduled visit to New York - that is supposed to occur Monday - but multiple NBA insiders involved in the process told Newsday that the five-time All-Star power forward is ready to accept a five-year, $92-million contract with the Knicks.

Stoudemire, 27, would reunite with Mike D'Antoni , who coached him for four seasons with the Phoenix Suns from 2004-08. They shared a mercurial relationship, but right now, they need each other.

Stoudemire, who had microfracture surgery on his knee in October 2005 and surgery to repair a detached retina in February 2009, wasn't drawing a great deal of interest, and the Knicks don't seem to be getting good vibes from free agents, either.

The Suns, who saw their injury protection-loaded final offer of five years and $94 million rejected by Stoudemire, waived his Bird rights Friday, a clear sign they have given up trying to re-sign him. Stoudemire talked to the Heat on Wednesday night in Los Angeles before having a phone conversation with D' Antoni .

Teams cannot officially sign players until after the seven-day moratorium is lifted Thursday, but an agreement in principle can be reached before then.

"We're having our meetings and touching all bases," D' Antoni said. "And it just keeps evolving and going on. That's really all we have to report."

Despite media speculation that places them as a long shot, the Knicks hope Stoudemire can help them lure James. A person close to Stoudemire said the power forward already is lobbying James and Joe Johnson with text messages and urging them to join him in New York.

Remember that James campaigned for the Cavaliers to get Stoudemire before the Feb. 18 trade deadline. The two were chummy during All-Star weekend in Dallas. D'Antoni envisions a devastating pick-and-roll tandem that would be a nightmare to defend.

Stoudemire played all 82 games as an All-Star selection for the Suns this past season and averaged 23.1 points and 8.9 rebounds in 34.6 minutes.

Another situation the Knicks are closely monitoring, according to NBA team officials, involves a potential blockbuster deal for Anthony. He has a three-year, $65-million contract extension from the Denver Nuggets on the table, but a person with knowledge of the situation told Newsday that Anthony is strongly considering declining the offer.

Anthony, who was born in Brooklyn's Red Hook projects, is married to former MTV VJ LaLa Vazquez, who also was born in Brooklyn and is said to want to move back to New York for career purposes. They recently put their $9.5-million mansion in suburban Denver on the market.

A Nuggets source recently called talk of trading Anthony "absolute speculation" but did not deny it as a possible result if Anthony does not want to re-sign. A member of the NBA's famed 2003 draft class, Anthony has not been able to raise his stature to that of James and Wade, and a move to a major market could help.

A high-ranking Knicks official confirmed that Anthony's situation "will be followed up" this offseason but said that with very few assets on the roster, the challenge is in getting him. One potential asset - using the Bird rights to David Lee in a sign-and-trade - might not be there for them much longer. Lee, who was in Chicago on Friday while the Knicks also were here, is getting strong interest from the Nets, Bulls, Heat and Wizards.

According to an NBA player, Stoudemire also has reached out to others, such as the Spurs' Tony Parker , who is seeking a full max extension after his contract expires next summer. Parker's interest in being traded to the Knicks is motivated by George Hill 's ascent into Gregg Popovich 's starting lineup and the fact that his wife, actress Eva Longoria , would prefer a move to New York.

In this scenario, the Knicks envision adding at least one more perimeter shooter, perhaps Mike Miller , to join Danilo Gallinari to help open the floor for Parker and Stoudemire to work the pick-and-roll.

The Knicks met Friday with Wade and Chris Bosh . Wade left his two-hour morning sit-down with the Knicks saying: "It went real well . . . I will say I'm intrigued." But after he left the meeting with the Knicks, Wade had a second meeting with the Bulls.

LeBron , meanwhile, was in Cleveland , sitting down with the Heat and Clippers. There were reports that King James came away unimpressed with the Knicks' pitch Thursday, which is consistent with the negative reactions the Knicks have gotten from unnamed sources in reports during the past week.

Knicks president Donnie Walsh seemed annoyed with the way his franchise is being portrayed.

"I have not heard from anybody that's connected with that camp that said that," Walsh said of the reports regarding LeBron , "so I really don't know."

The Dolan family owns controlling interests in the Knicks, MSG and Cablevision . Cablevision owns Newsday.

Lee and Chandler may be a good place to start....

Hahn, you work for Dolan now, calm down.

I don't quite see how the Knicks are desperate - while you know every other team is apparently doing the right things all along.

We cleaned house of the idiots. We cleared our cap so we can get at big name free agents. We have a handful of good young players.

What's the problem and where is the desperation?

Pathetic writing....

Cosmic wrote:Desperate Knicks?

Hahn, you work for Dolan now, calm down.

I don't quite see how the Knicks are desperate - while you know every other team is apparently doing the right things all along.

We cleaned house of the idiots. We cleared our cap so we can get at big name free agents. We have a handful of good young players.

What's the problem and where is the desperation?

Pathetic writing....

Desperate cause they could walk away with only Amare this summer and nada else.

The way he nods his head after that dunk is just awesome. Do that in orange and blue please.

This is funny--you know what this is--the Knicks leaking that Lee might be signed because they want his salary to eat up some of the cap out there--they do not want Lee back.

Carmelo Anthony, who was born in Brooklyn's Red Hook projects, is married to former MTV VJ LaLa Vazquez, who also was born in Brooklyn and is said to want to move back to New York for career purposes.

Parker's interest in being traded to the Knicks is motivated by ..... and the fact that his wife, actress Eva Longoria , would prefer a move to New York.

LaLa Vazquez Anthony

Eva Longoria Parker

My only question is can you include DLee in a S&T? Does NBA rules allow it?

Amare, Melo and Gallo frontline would be high octane offense.

Amar'e -- said to be close to signing a 5-year contract anywhere from $92-100M. Knicks might be the only team out there willing to give him full gauranteed money, with no injury protection for the team (nothing based on games played, etc..). Whether this is really the guy we want or not, that detail might seal the deal for us. Like him or not, he does give us a lot more credibility throughout this whole process as soon as he walks through the door...He instantly gives us two legs to stand on whereas right now, we're pretty much on our knees..I don't love the idea of going with a fully gauranteed contract for a guy with his injury history, but what are we gonna do? We might have to bite the bullet just to secure that first big name. He might be worth that risk..For what I've heard, it sounds as if Amar'e's prepared to go out there and help us recruit players, whether it's LeBron or some other guys. Big plus..

Melo -- supposedly he's refusing to sign an extention with the Nuggets and it's been reported recently that Denver could be open to trading him to ensure they don't loose him for nothing when the time comes...Does David Lee & Gallinari get that done? Lee AND Gallo is a pretty substantial package to get back in any trade..Would Lee agree to go to Denver? Well first off, I think he would if Denver agreed to pay him, say something in the $12-14M dollar dange to start as part of a S&T..Plus, that team's been fairly successful in recent years (true that's had a ton to do with Melo obviously but still, there's been a winning culture there in Denver for a while now), Lee would be a perfect fit--he'd give them an all-star PF who would take over for K-Mart who's coming off the books next summer (I betcha he'd automatically eclipse K-Mart in the rotation this year and start alongside Nene/Birdman at the 5 with Gallo at the 3)...Speaking of Gallo, Lee would be playing with two guys he already knows, Gallo & Balkman. Plus Lee grew up in Missouri--that's pretty damn close to Denver, Colorado...Melo, on the flipside, was born in Red Hook Brooklyn and played at Syracuse. I know he moved to Baltimore when he was younger--I wonder if he still has family in the DC area..Point is, I think he and his family would be completely comfortable with him coming back east, esp. Melo with a chance to play in the Garden, where he excelled time and time again playing for 'Cuse. His wife's career could also benefit greatly with a move to NY.

Tony Parker -- Supposedly Pop called him up recently to tell him he's not going anywhere but I don't know if I buy that completely. George Hill passed him by in the rotation and I know for a fact they are really high on DL prospect Curtis Jerrells..No matter what Pop says now I think he really burned some bridges with this guy last year..George Hill?? WTF Pop? I don't care how good he played while filling in---Tony Parker won that city 3 championships...Parker has said he wants NY and wants to come play for MDA...I just don't know if a trade of Curry/Chandler and TD gets that done. It might--SA should feel the same way Denver feels about Melo right now -- why wait for Parker to just bolt after the season where you lose him for nothing. Curry's useless (though maybe he finally gets motivated being around Tim Duncan everyday), basically fodder as an expiring contract just to make the money work but Chandler and Douglas are two pretty good young players...With the way Parker has been treated, esp. after what he's done for that city, I think he wants out right now. I can't see him being happy at all playing behind George Hill this season, if that's Pop's intention...There's already talk that Amar'e's talking to Tony Parker about possibly teaming up with the Knicks. You know what else I like--with Curry coming off the books next year, I think we might be able to get this guy for nothing when he's a FA..Instead of trading for him, maybe we wait on him for a year and just sign him...

I could definitely see this coming together..Hopefully the Knicks have considered this. Any thoughts???

joec32033 wrote:

Finestrg wrote:Just curious how realistic an Amar'e/Carmelo Anthony/Tony Parker trio is for us at this point. Pretty damn good plan B right there if you ask me..

Amar'e -- said to be close to signing a 5-year contract anywhere from $92-100M. Knicks might be the only team out there willing to give him full gauranteed money, with no injury protection for the team (nothing based on games played, etc..). Whether this is really the guy we want or not, that detail might seal the deal for us. Like him or not, he does give us a lot more credibility throughout this whole process as soon as he walks through the door...He instantly gives us two legs to stand on whereas right now, we're pretty much on our knees..I don't like the idea of going with a fully gauranteed contract for a guy with his injury history, but what are we gonna do. We might have to bite the bullet just to secure that first big name. He might be worth that risk..For what I've heard, it sounds as if Amar'e's prepared to go out there and help us recruit players, whether it's LeBron or some other guys. Big plus..

Melo -- supposedly he's refusing to sign an extention with the Nuggets and it's been reported recently that Denver could be open to trading him to ensure they don't loose him for nothing when the time comes...Does David Lee & Gallinari get that done? Lee AND Gallo is a pretty substantial package to get back in any trade..Would Lee agree to go to Denver? Well first off, I think he would if Denver agreed to pay him, say something in the $12-14M dollar dange to start as part of a S&T..Plus, that team's been fairly successful in recent years (true that's had a ton to do with Melo obviously but still, there's been a winning culture there in Denver for a while now), Lee would be a perfect fit--he'd give them an all-star PF who would take over for K-Mart who's coming off the books next summer (I betcha he'd automatically eclipse K-Mart in the rotation this year and start alongside Nene/Birdman at the 5 with Gallo at the 3)...Speaking of Gallo, Lee would be playing with two guys he already knows, Gallo & Balkman. Plus Lee grew up in Missouri--that's pretty damn close to Denver, Colorado...Melo, on the flipside, was born in Red Hook Brooklyn and played at Syracuse. I know he moved to Baltimore when he was younger--I wonder if he still has family in the DC area..Point is, I think he and his family would be completely comfortable with him coming back east, esp. to play in the Garden, where he excelled time and time again playing for 'Cuse. His wife's career could benefit greatly with a move to NY.

Tony Parker -- Supposedly Pop called him up recently to tell him he's not going anywhere but I don't know if I buy that completely. George Hill passed him by in the rotation and I know for a fact they are really high on DL prospect Curtis Jerrells..No matter what Pop says now I think he really burned some bridges with this guy last year..George Hill?? WTF Pop? I don't care how good he played while filling in---Tony Parker won that city 3 championships...Parker has said he wants NY and wants to come play for MDA...I just don't know if a trade of Curry/Chandler and TD gets that done. It might--SA should feel the same way Denver feels about Melo right now -- why wait for Parker to just bolt after the season where you lose him for nothing. Curry's useless (though maybe he finally gets motivated being around Tim Duncan everyday), basically fodder as an expiring contract just to make the money work but Chandler and Douglas are two pretty good young players...With the way Parker has been treated, esp. after what he's done for that city, I think he wants out right now. I can't see him being happy at all playing behind George Hill this season, if that's Pop's intention...There's already talk that Amar'e's talking to Tony Parker about possibly teaming up with the Knicks. You know what else I like--with Curry coming off the books next year, I think we might be able to get this guy for nothing when he's a FA..Instead of trading for him, maybe we wait on him for a year and just sign him...

I could definitely see this coming together..Hopefully the Knicks have considered this. Any thoughts???

Agree on Amare.

Agree on Melo on everything but the contract. He is no doubt a max contract.

I don't want Parker. I would rather have Johnson and Douglas in the backcourt.

Yeah, no doubt Melo's a max guy. If he was a FA in this year's class, I'd rate him a close 3rd, only behind Lebron then Wade...When I mentioned $12-14M to start, I was referring to David Lee. Melo's due to make over $17.2M this year--we'd be inheriting that contract until it was time to reup him...Lee & Gallo doesn't equal Melo but it's a damn good package for Denver to get to ensure they don't loose this guy for nothing..

To me Tony Parker = 3 championships...And those championships weren't all won by Tim Duncan alone -- this guy played a huge part..I think he's a guy that makes a lot of sense for us right now given the situation on both sides, us & SA..He makes a lot of sense for us no matter who we wind up getting in FA right now. I think he'd instantly make us a much more attractive team...Or, like I said, say we succeed in landing 2 guys like an Amar'e & Melo in a trade and then SA holds us hostage on a Parker trade for future picks, etc..No problem -- based on how they treated him last year, the fact that he wants out, wants NY/MDA & may have even had some dialogue with Amar'e about teaming up in the Big Apple recently, AND the fact that he's an UFA next season, I'd be confident I could sign him outright the following year and just go with Amar'e/Melo in year 1...Right now I'd call up SA and offer Curry/Chandler & TD -- take it or leave it..