GM expects to see Anthony Monday

Hoping they can deal Carmelo Anthony before training camp, the Knicks reached out to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the last 10 days to gauge their interest in a possible trade, a source told the Daily News.

Although Anthony still desires Houston as a destination, the Knicks have not budged on their stance to reject the Rockets’ offer of Ryan Anderson and his large contract. The Knicks, according to a source, believe Anthony is amenable to joining the Cavs as an alternative, to play with buddy LeBron James for the threetime defending Eastern Conference champs.

ESPN confirmed the Daily News

Like a broken marriage maintained because divorce is too expensive, Carmelo Anthony is still a Knick. He has survived (or is it endured?) five months after being publicly deemed unwelcome by the team president, through a neartrade to Houston and a public recruitment from the Blazers.

And now he is expected in training camp on Monday, even as more trade rumors began to swirl on Friday night. The News reported that Anthony has added the Cavaliers to his trade wish list, while other reports say the Thunder are also now on the list.

But unless something happens before Monday, the most awkward relationship in the NBA is headed toward a reunion at the practice facility. Not only did Knicks brass, but coach Jeff Hornacek said Anthony will remain a starter with the same role.

“It’s not going to change,” Hornacek said. “We’re going to implement certain plays, certain defensive schemes that he’s going to be asked to do. But if you think I’m not going to start him, you’re crazy. If he’s back. So he’s a great player, he still is and he’s going to lend a lot to our team. For us, we’re assuming he’s back.”

This is all hard to believe given the blog posts from team brass ignoring Anthony as a part of the team’s future. The Knicks are pushing youth and defense, not exactly Anthony’s specialties. But their message Friday was Anthony will be in uniform and on his best behavior.

The latter won’t be dictated by the Knicks, however, because Anthony could show up Monday (or not show up) and create a circus.

“Carmelo has always been a professional. That’s one thing I’ve always respected about him,” GM Scott Perry said. “I think he can set a good example for the young players. He’s been a 10time All-Star. If he’s back here with the New York Knicks, we expect him to be the professional he’s always exemplified throughout his career and move forward with him.”

Perry is relatively new to this never-ending saga, but also at least partially responsible for prolonging it. The Knicks were in deep trade discussions with the Rockets before Perry was hired in July. Those talks stalled as Perry and team president Steve Mills hoped to retrieve a better haul by convincing Anthony to open up his list of potential destinations.

That hasn’t happened. It has been Rockets or nothing for Anthony. The Knicks, despite their public embrace of Anthony, still want him off the roster on their terms.

“We’ve just been in constant contact with he and his representatives and I won’t get into the details of how far or how close we were to any type of deal,” Perry said.

“At the end of the day, what we set out and what we said if there was something there that made sense both for him and the Knicks organization, then we would strongly consider it. Obviously we sit here today and that did not happen as of yet.

“I think in our position you always keep an open mind,” the GM added. “Part of my job is to help this team get better in any way that we can. So we’re going to continue to do that on a daily basis.”

Both Perry and Mills said they spoke this offseason with Anthony, who has kept a low profile while training away from the Knicks at a private gym in Manhattan.

The 33-year-old went through a similar experience seven years ago after asking out of Denver. The Nuggets still brought Anthony into camp despite trade negotiations, and he played well for half the season before being shipped to New York.

But the Knicks, unlike the Nuggets that year, don’t have a realistic path to the playoffs, let alone contention. It’s an ill fit for both sides, but still headed toward an uncomfortable training camp.

“Our plan is that Carmelo will be with us on Monday on media day and with us on Tuesday when we start practicing,” Mills said.

The broken marriage continues.