Carmelo Anthony would love to call Kevin Durant a New York Knicks teammate and is spending time with the free agent to actively woo him to the Big Apple.
Speaking with ESPN, via Marc Stein, Anthony revealed the recruiting process has already started to take place.
‎”I’m with KD now; he’s right downstairs,” Anthony told ESPN in an interview that will air later Monday on SportsCenter. “We’ve been together. We’ve been talking.
“I do consider myself part of the Knicks,” Anthony continued, “so that meeting has already taken place.”
It’s kind of crazy to imagine the Knicks featuring Anthony, Durant, Derrick Rose and second-year phenom Kristaps Porzingis. At the same time, it’s hard to imagine there will be enough basketballs to go around to them all, given their proclivity to shoot at high volume.
Still, Durant has been rumored to be one of the top priorities of the Knicks since the Rose trade with Chicago, per Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. Obviously the Knicks envision a free-flowing offense that can space the floor, which in theory would be a nice change of pace for the starving New York fan base.
There is a problem with the entire idea, however. It’s been reported by Adrian Wojnarowski that NBA teams are operating right now under the assumption that Durant will re-sign with the Oklahoma City Thunder this year. At this point, they all reportedly believe they are laying the framework for 2017’s free agency class, when both Russell Westbrook and Durant would be free agents.
Free agency begins on July 1. It’s going to be quite a free-for-all once the action commences. We cannot wait.