The Knicks have won three out of the first five contests in a nine-game stretch against Eastern Conference opponents. The run doesn’t include any meetings with the Pacers or Heat, so it’s a chance for New York to start its climb out of the Atlantic Division cellar, and for coach Mike Woodson to shush speculation about his job security. Here’s the latest on the Knicks:
- Bleacher Report’s Jared Zwerling proposes a swap centered on Carmelo Anthony and Blake Griffin and shares insight from sources close to the Clippers and Knicks about the idea. Zwerling also hears that the Knicks wanted to pursue LaMarcus Aldridge this summer but the Creative Artists Agency goaded them into trading instead for Andrea Bargnani, one of their clients.
- The only way Knicks owner James Dolan would agree to an Anthony-Griffin swap is if Anthony tells him he’s signing elsewhere in free agency this summer, tweets Frank Isola of the New York Daily News.
- Metta World Peace tells reporters, including Marc Berman of the New York Post, that he signed with the Knicks with the intention of winning a title in New York (Sulia link). The veteran forward says the Raptors would gain a “championship mentality” if the Knicks throw him in a Kyle Lowry trade, as has been rumored.