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The New York Knicks are still expected to make moves in free agency even after landing Jalen Brunson as one of the first big moves of the season.
Brunson fills the long-vacant point guard hole the team had, but there are other spots that need to be addressed on top of that. Consistent scoring is something the team could use, and perhaps that’s why they’ve been linked to 10-time All-Star and former Knicks star Carmelo Anthony.
Anthony may be close to retirement, but he still has a bit left in the tank that can help a team remain competitive. While the latest Los Angeles Lakers season was a disaster, Anthony was a bright spot as he averaged 13.3 points per game off the bench for them and shot 37.5 percent from deep.
SNY’s Ian Begley reports an offer is on the table for the team that would see a reunion between him and the Knicks. He notes the offer dates back to last season, but he says he hasn’t heard anything about it being off the table.
In predicting the remaining free agent landing spots, Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz believes Anthony will skip the Knicks and resign with the Lakers for the next season.
No Reunion?
Anthony coming back to the Knicks could be a difficult thing to imagine considering New York isn’t exactly competing for a championship and they’re trying to develop some of the young guys on the team.
Anthony is 38 years old and he’ll be fighting for minutes at the same position Obi Toppin and Julius Randle play. Toppin already struggles for minutes, so having another veteran to fight with could be rough.
Because of this, Swartz argues the future Hall of Famer should find a way to stick with the Lakers.
“As tempting as going back to New York may be for nostalgic reasons, the Lakers are a better basketball fit,” he wrote. “They can offer Anthony a bigger role, given that the Knicks have Julius Randle and Obi Toppin already filling the power forward spot.”
That’s certainly a good reason for Anthony to head back to Los Angeles, and that’ll become an even better reason if the Lakers manage to land Kyrie Irving in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets.
Where Do The Knicks Go Next?
An Anthony reunion is still in the cards, but if the team is trying to get better by developing their own in-house talent, signing him would throw a wrench into those plans.
The majority of the roster is young, so while they could end up competing for a playoff spot now with Brunson, there won’t be many people out there thinking they have a realistic chance of winning a championship.
With Derrick Rose coming back healthy next season, the team seems set at point guard which seems strange considering how much uncertainty clouded the position for years, but they’ll definitely need to see more development out of players like RJ Barrett, Toppin, Immanuel Quickley and even Cam Reddish if they want to get back to the playoffs.
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