Atlantic Notes: Carmelo, Raptors, Anunoby, Kyrie

It appears all but certain at this point that the Knicks will begin training camp with Carmelo Anthony still on their roster, but Anthony’s camp is holding out hope that the team can get a trade done before Monday, writes Frank Isola of The New York Daily News. According to Isola, Anthony and his family have “mentally” moved to Houston, having believed that the Knicks would get a deal done with the Rockets.

Unless the Knicks were bluffing all offseason about their unwillingness to take Ryan Anderson‘s contract in a trade with the Rockets, it doesn’t seem likely that the two teams will get a deal done in the coming days, so we’ll see what happens if and when Anthony has to report to camp with the Knicks.

In the meantime, here are a few more items from around the Atlantic division:

• Having lost some veteran depth in the offseason, the Raptors will be counting on some young players to step up and claim rotations roles. Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca explores whether those youngsters will be ready to contribute.
• Within his piece, Lewenberg also notes that the Raptors don’t expect to get injured first-round pick OG Anunoby back on the court until November at the earliest, and writes that the team is taking a “zero tolerance” policy with Bruno Caboclo. Caboclo was removed from Brazil’s national team this summer for refusing to re-enter a game, and Raptors sources cited some behavioral issues in the G League last season as well, says Lewenberg.
• Following up on Kyrie Irving‘s comments this week on ESPN’s First Take, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders suggests there’s nothing wrong with the new Celtics point guard wanting to get out from under LeBron James‘ shadow and be his own star.
• Earlier this afternoon, we passed along several comments from Sixers president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo, including his assertion that the club is “cautiously optimistic” about working out an extension for Joel Embiid.