New York Knicks' Carmelo Anthony says team might not be ready to jell until next year. HoopsHype - The NBA Basketball Web Site. ESPNChicago's Hot Button Topic of the week - ESPN Chicago. After Los Angeles Clippers denied Kim Hughes surgery, players paid - ESPN Los Angeles. NBA Skinny: Playoff prep - Fantasy. New York trades for Carmelo Anthony - Ball Don't Lie - NBA Had the New York Knicks continued apace, the upcoming offseason would have seen the team with only around $40 million in payroll commitments for the 2011-12 season. This would have included promising center Timofey Mozgov(notes), wingman Danilo Gallinari(notes) and solid point guard Raymond Felton(notes).
It would have been complicated, but the team could have signed Carmelo Anthony(notes). And, depending on the rules of the new collective-bargaining agreement, it could have done it for a little more than half of what he's now set to earn next season. As it stands now, the team will be on the hook for nearly $20 million more than the figure listed above. It will have Chauncey Billups(notes) and Carmelo Anthony on the roster, which is nice, but the team will also be stuck paying Anthony a contract extension typical of the collective-bargaining agreements that were worked out between 1999 and 2005. By this time next season, Carmelo's extension will be an anachronism. "Shut up. " Court Report Live Blog: T-Mac is trending - Roto Arcade - Fantasy Blog. We take a closer look at the Buzz Index leaders a few days before the start of the default h2h playoffs... • Friday's most added players (as of 3pm PT): Tracy McGrady(notes), GF, DET - T-Mac was back in a big way Wednesday (35 minutes, 15 points, 2 threes, 7 boards, 9 assists, 2 steals, 1 block).
Whether or not he continues to start ahead of Stuckey will be up to John Kuester, who said he's "looking to mix and match all the time. " You are on your own when it comes to making prognostications for any/all Pistons outside of Greg Monroe(notes). Ty Lawson(notes), PG, DEN - Things looked sketchy for Lawson immediately after Raymond Felton(notes) arrived but he's now averaged 17 points on 49-percent shooting, 1.3 threes, 8.5 assists, and 1.8 steals in 33 minutes over the past four games. George Karl has no plans to move away from Lawson as the starter, so he's a pretty good bet to stay around 30 minutes for the most part, enough time to post solid numbers overall. Court Report Live Blog: Rudy Gay delayed, Steve Nash hurting - Roto Arcade - Fantasy Blog.
• Rudy Gay(notes) underwent a Monday MRI on his ailing left shoulder and delivered this message shortly thereafter: "I hate bad news. " He's going to need another week (or two) of rehab and then will be re-evaluated. This is unfortunate but perhaps not surprising, given that he was dealing with pain during any sudden movements just two days ago. Gay becomes a bit more expendable with this news, even to those of you currently on a bye, so natually the consideration becomes which player to add. If you are idle this week, you can look for Eric Gordon(notes) or Tyreke Evans(notes) as other speculative pieces - we should have updates on both players within the next few days, but both are 50-50 in terms of impending and productive returns.
Otherwise, take a gander at part II of the Week 21 Dashboard for a comprehensive breakdown of the most relevant, widely-available players. Check the comment thread for status updates or to post your own. As 'Melo arrives, Zeke hides in shadows - NBA. NEW YORK – Isiah Thomas has privately grumbled the world hasn't given him his due as de facto street agent for the New York Knicks, that there were no bouquets for his imaginary recruitment of Amar'e Stoudemire(notes) and Carmelo Anthony(notes).
He has brokered his bull on Knicks owner James Dolan, on the false prophecy that Chris Paul(notes) is a wide-eyed teenager eventually willing to come out of love and loyalty to his childhood idol. From immortal player to NBA president, GM and coach, Thomas has completed his transformation into a two-bit AAU middleman peddling contrived influence to a sad, lonely delusional Dolan. Thomas is taking his hat off to himself today, on his way to getting Florida International's backend kicked at Western Kentucky. This is a transformative day for the Knicks, with Carmelo Anthony on the way to his Wednesday night debut at Madison Square Garden.
It was engaging, charming and made such a compelling case to Stoudemire. Thomas recruited Anthony to the Knicks?