The NY Knicks main priority is signing Carmelo Anthony this offseason and teams like the Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets, Brooklyn Nets and LA Lakers could be competition for New York and that is one reason why Phil Jackson is talking about Derek Fisher as an option to be the next head coach, as he could be a name that sways Melo to stay in the Big Apple.
Anthony has not opted out of his contract yet because he can't, but all signs point to him becoming a free agent and if that happens, the Knicks know that it's possible he could leave. According to ESPN.com, Phil Jackson is confident that he can keep Anthony, but other reports from Si.com and ProBasketballTalk say that the Chicago Bulls and Houston Rockets will be making real runs at him this offseason. Anthony is an elite scorer and while he is not LeBron James, he won a championship in college and had been to the playoffs every year of his career until last season.
Anthony averaged 27 points on a bad Knicks team and while Jackson is now in the fold, it may not be enough to sway Anthony to stay. Carmelo is nearing 30 and he wants to at least get to the finals or at least the playoffs and based on the way the Knicks played last season and their roster makeup, it isn't happening for at least a year or two. The Knicks can give the most money and the longest contract, but Anthony has made a ton of money in his career and he may be looking for more than that. Anthony said he would be willing to take less money to stay in NY, but it's easy to say that now with no official deal on the table.
Anthony will be tempted by those other teams if they can free up the cap space needed to sign him, as they are both much closer to winning than the Knicks. The Bulls will need to move Carlos Boozer or amnesty him to get the space needed and they feel like they have a shot, as they have Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah as their core players. Anthony would be perfect for the Bulls, as they need an offensive player to help, as they were ranked first in defense last season and 30th in points scored on offense per game.
The Rockets have Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin along with Chandler Parsons to deal with and they will have to move at least two of those players to get Anthony. The team is also interested in Kevin Love and Rajon Rondo, but that means GM Daryl Morey will have to get some things going before he can do that. The Knicks started the season 3-13 and basically were done, but the only reason they stayed in contention was due to how bad the east conference is and now Anthony has to decide his future. The Knicks regressed in a major way after winning 54 games and the division, as they slumped to 37 and were out of the playoffs last season and as all this is going on, the Rangers are in the Cup.
