Melo: Timing just off to get Wade to Knicks
LAS VEGAS — Not that Carmelo Anthony is pining for him, but the Knicks star thinks if the momentum for Dwyane Wade to leave Miami occurred earlier this month, the Knicks may have had the cap room to snare him.
The Knicks had talks with Wade, but he ultimately signed a $23.5 million per year contract with his hometown Bulls. After the Joakim Noah signing, the Knicks would have needed to have been creative to open cap room and definitely would have had to forget about signing Courtney Lee and Brandon Jennings and they also would have had to renounce the rights to Lance Thomas.
Anthony is close friends with Wade, who might possibly have taken a New York discount.
“There was a chance, definitely a chance,’’ Anthony said Wednesday. “We would’ve had to pull a rabbit out of a hat in the 25th hour, though. There was a chance. If it was two days earlier, we probably would’ve had Dwyane Wade.”
Wade’s interest and the Noah, Jennings and Lee signings show the Derrick Rose trade has placed the Knicks in a new light, that they are now an attractive destination as opposed to last summer. In 2017, the free-agent market will dazzle, and Anthony thinks his club again be a formidable player.
“We will be better for sure,’’ Anthony said. “As far as wanting to come, I think guys are starting to see the excitement coming back. I know it’s early, the offseason. The excitement is coming to the city. The New York Knicks are starting to be talked about again. This year is going to be good and everyone’s going to see that.’’
Though the cap goes up again, although not as significantly as previously estimated, the Knicks will have cap-room issues. Especially if they re-sign Rose.
Can the Knicks build a superteam with Anthony’s buddies Chris Paul, Wade and LeBron James, who all become free agents in 2017?
“You never know what can happen these days,’’ Anthony said. “Everything is different these days. I just want to get through this season first. Start this season, enjoy the new Knicks, this new era.’’
Anthony said he was not surprised by J.R. Smith’s unruly shirtless championship celebration.
“I love it. I probably would’ve done the same thing,” he said. “I’m wearing my uniform everywhere. I might walk around with my tights on. Ain’t no telling what I’d do if I won the championship.” Was it J.R. redemption? “It definitely matured him a lot,” Anthony said. “He’s been through so much just on the court, off the court. Mentally, to see him find his peace is a great thing coming from a friend.’’