Carmelo Anthony Rumors: Thursday

Knicks president Phil Jackson spoke with New York media and indicated that he expects Carmelo Anthony to re-sign with the team today, writes Al Iannazzone of Newsday. Jackson met with his star player last week in Los Angeles, where the two apparently “struck a chord” about their vision for the future of the franchise. This news agrees with a report we heard yesterday that Anthony was ready to announce his commitment to stay in New York, though there were additional reports suggesting he was still considering other destinations.

Here are more Carmelo-related rumors from Thursday:

• While it’s been widely reported that the Knicks offered Anthony a five year, $129MM pact, Jackson said on Thursday that there are five different ways the deal could be structured, Iannazzone adds. Jackson also indicated that none of the five versions of the deal figure to have a huge impact on the team’s future cap flexibility.
• Jackson said that he’s texted Anthony since their meeting last week but has yet to hear back, tweets Chris Herring of the Wall Street Journal. Referring to Jackson’s indication that he expects a decision on Thursday, Herring implies (via Twitter) that Jackson has expected this to be resolved for days now.
• According to James Worthy, the Lakers pitch to ‘Melo centered on selling Anthony’s wife on Los Angeles, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post. Worthy was part of the group that met with Anthony and still believes he is considering L.A.
• Anthony has regained interest in the Bulls after leaning elsewhere, according to Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald, who indicated head coach Tom Thibodeau has played a major role in reigniting that flame. McGraw adds that, internally, the Bulls have been trying to figure out how to close Anthony, which in turn could lead to them starting sign-and-trade talks (all Twitter links here).