National Basketball Association

Carmelo letting Knicks fans dream

Published Nov. 17, 2010 12:00 a.m. ET

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The Knicks are alive for Carmelo Anthony.

To what extent? That’s the million-dollar question.

It’s a question that Anthony would not -- and probably could not -- answer on Tuesday night. Long after Denver did everything it could to hand the Knicks the game before walking off the Pepsi Center court with a 120-118 win, we listened to the Nuggets’ star forward talk about his future. If you’re a Knicks fan, you had to be depressed by a sixth straight loss. But then here came Anthony offering hope.

Maybe it’s the kind of hope that LeBron James offered, which was nothing more than just a big tease.

But Anthony did not dismiss the idea of one day playing for New York.

He had plenty of chances to cross the Knicks off his list during his 15 minutes with reporters. He could have ended the speculation about his return to his New York City roots -- he’s from Brooklyn originally -- once and for all.

But he didn’t do that.

So even if there wasn’t a lot of substance to his answers, the Knicks still are an option. That’s good, if you’re a Knicks fan.

At one point, Anthony was asked if he had a message to send to New York fans, thousands of whom know that for the Knicks to be real contenders, Amar'e Stoudemire needs a wing-man like Carmelo Anthony.

“I’ve got to focus on what’s going on in Denver right now,’’ he said. “For me to send a message to the fans of New York, I can’t do that.’’

But he did, ever-so-subtly.

Of course he couldn’t just come out and say that he is looking to go home. If he did, he would have given his legion of fans in Denver a reason to turn on him. He’s too smart to do something stupid like that. And he made sure to tell everyone that Denver still has a chance to sign him, long-term.

“We’re talking,’’ he said. “And we’ll keep talking.’’

But it’s generally assumed throughout the NBA that Anthony wants out and will go to the Knicks, Nets or Bulls via a trade before the Feb. 24 deadline. The Knicks have never had the assets to get Denver’s attention in trade discussions. Only the Nets have managed to do that, with a package featuring multiple No. 1 picks and rookie Derrick Favors, who went third overall last June and could be a big-time player down the line.

The best thing the Knicks have going for them is Stoudemire, who sounded like he’s the president of the Carmelo Anthony Fan Club, Manhattan Division. Anthony doesn’t have anyone in Denver now who can match Stoudemire’s talent level.

“Anytime you can team up with great friends, it would be a lot of fun,’’ Stoudemire said. “We can’t determine what the near-future holds. But any time you could team up with a good friend, it would be great.’’

It would be the Knicks’ answer to what LeBron James did last summer with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. But just because James did it doesn’t mean Anthony will. That was the only downer Anthony offered Knick fans.

"We always joked about that, especially on the 2008 (Olympic) team." he said, about joining forces with other All-Star players. “On the bus, to and from practice, we always joked about playing with each other, and if we could have all 12 guys on one team. We always joked about that, but it was nothing more than that. LeBron and them took it to a different level. They followed through on it."

They did and James has been getting nothing but grief ever since.

“I’ve seen the backlash that he’s going through, it’s unfortunate," Anthony said. “I wouldn’t want to go through that because I’ve been through a lot of backlash through my career. I wouldn’t want go through it."

So there won’t be any TV show when Anthony makes his decision. But when it comes to keeping the Knicks as an option, Anthony is following LeBron's lead. Right until he made his announcement, James always talked about the Knicks as if they had a shot.

The Knicks have a shot now with Anthony, even if he is telling everyone that he wants to win championships -- something all marquee free agents say, because it sounds good -- and we can all see that the Knicks don’t fall into that category. They’re several levels down from title contender status. The way they’re playing now, they’ll be lucky if they compete for eighth place in the East.

“They’ve got some things to do, some things to work on," Anthony said. “But it just looks like they’ve got some new guys on the team and they’re trying to figure it out."

Just as Anthony is trying to figure out what he’ll do in eight months.

For now, he gives the Knicks a shot.

Maybe it’s long, but it’s a shot just the same.

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