Carmelo Anthony Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Lopez, Carmelo, Sixers, Celtics

February 15th, 2012 at 6:07pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Away from all the hoopla in Manhattan, Deron Williams looked to remain focused about his upcoming matchup tonight against the Grizzlies. When asked about the recent emergence of Jeremy Lin, Williams seemed apathetic. "Y'all got anything about [our game]?" Williams asked. "Anything that's relevant with us?"

That's where we come in. Here are a few notes about the Nets and the rest of the Atlantic Division.

Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News mentioned (via Twitter) a possible return of Nets center Brook Lopez before the All-Star break. Also, Colin Stephenson of The Star-Ledger tweeted that Jordan Farmar did not suit up for tonight's game due to a strained right groin.
Ian Begley of ESPN New York writes that Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony could return as early as Friday's game against the Hornets.
Bob Cooney of Philly.com discusses the uncertainty of how active the Sixers will be in the trade market before the deadline.
Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com touches upon the durability of Kevin Garnett, the trade value of Jermaine O'Neal, and the current state of the Celtics.
Linas Kleiza is out of the Raptors lineup after injuring himself during Tuesday's game against the Knicks, according to a tweet by Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun.

Odds & Ends: Lakers, Knicks, Celtics, Bulls

February 12th, 2012 at 9:48pm CST by Jesse Blanchard

Teams in three of the top markets in the NBA, the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, and New York Knicks, are struggling through disappointing seasons (though the Knicks have picked up lately under the promise of Linsanity). A fourth big-market club, the Chicago Bulls, now has a potential injury problem.

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports officials from the Lakers attended a private workout for Gilbert Arenas. Arenas was amnestied this off-season by the Orlando Magic, and is hoping the same knee procedure that benefited Kobe Bryant in the off-season can produce similar results.
Amare Stoudemire returns Monday and Al Iannazzone of Newsday wonders how the Knicks' offense will look when Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony return. Stoudemire seems a natural fit alongside Lin. His skill set has always been maximized alongside a pick and roll point guard. Anthony, however, is one of the best isolation scorers in the NBA and the ball tends to stop in his hands.
Derrick Rose sat Sunday's game against the Celtics out with a back injury and will meet with some specialists Monday in Chicago reports Neil Hayes at the Chicago Sun-Times. Rose had similar back issues in high school, but this is the first time he's had trouble since. The Bulls lack the star power of some of the other team, but compensate with their depth and chemistry. That chemistry, however, still depends on Rose operating near peak form.
Brandon Bass is ailing, and Jermaine O'Neal is often injured. The Celtics have been looking for front court depth for some time. Today they got some good minutes from rookie JuJuan Johnson and veteran Chris Wilcox writes Green Street's Mike Petraglia.
Paul Flannery of WEEI.com wonders if Rajon Rondo is the centerpiece of the next generation of Celtics, or will he prove to be too unorthodox for a team minus three future Hall of Famers?

Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Stevenson, Bargnani

February 10th, 2012 at 10:11pm CST by Chuck Myron

Jeremy Lin's bandwagon is getting mighty crowded after the Harvard grad outscored Kobe Bryant 38-34 in a 92-85 win for the Knicks over the Lakers tonight. HoopsWorld writer Alex Kennedy tweets that the locker room chatter suggests Lin, a restricted free-agent at season's end, could get a contract on par with Wesley Matthews, who inked a five-year, $34MM contract with the Blazers after his impressive rookie season in Utah. But as Brian Cronin of KnickerBlogger.net points out, Lin will be limited to receiving the full mid-level exception. Under the new collective bargaining agreement, the mid-level exception is four years, starting at $5MM a year with annual raises of 4.5%.

Notes from elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:

Peter Vecsey of the New York Post delved into the past to reveal how the Nets nearly drafted Bryant in 1996.
Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni believes Lin and Carmelo Anthony will fit together just fine when Melo returns from injury, reports Al Iannazzone of New York Newsday. The coach believes it will be similar to the way Chauncey Billups and Anthony meshed with both the Nuggets and the Knicks.
The Nets made a $12,000 investment in DeShawn Stevenson's knees. Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News reports that the team paid for Stevenson to get the same blood-spinning treatment Kobe Bryant received. Stephenson, who paid for the other half of the $24,000 procedure, says his arthritic knees feel as healthy as they have since 2004. Stephenson also said that Knicks point guard Baron Davis had the same treatment as well.
Brook Lopez, who's been out since training camp with a broken foot, is on his way back for the Nets. He's set to practice this week, Andy Vasquez writes on NorthJersey.com.
James Johnson tells Raptors announcer Matt Devlin that the absense of Andrea Bargnani, who could be out until after the All-Star Break, is affecting the play of the rest of the team. His comments are at the four-minute mark of this video on Raptors.com.

Knicks Notes: Anthony, Davis, Stoudemire

February 6th, 2012 at 8:35pm CST by Daniel Seco

With 15 points, eight assists and two steals three quarters into his first start as a Knick, Jeremy Lin is making a strong case to cool some of the point guard trade rumors surrounding Madison Square Garden. Beyond Lin, the uncertain state of the Knicks roster has occupied NBA conversation in the wake of new and old health concerns as well as personal tragedy.

Here are a few evening items on the Knicks as they lead the Utah Jazz 75-73 through three quarters of play:

Already limited by Amare Stoudemire's untimely departure from the team, the Knicks lost All-Star starter Carmelo Anthony early in the first quarter to a strained groin, reports ESPNNewYork.com's Ian Begley. Anthony will not return to the game and may require the Knicks to scour the D-League for frontcourt help.
Baron Davis is not expected to join the Knicks until after the All-Star break (Feb. 24-27) thanks to an elbow infection, writes Matt Buser of Yahoo! Sports. If newly-minted starter Lin cannot build on his breakout performance of Saturday night, the Knicks could look to sign a point guard to a 10-day contract, which teams can now offer free agents as of today.
Reeling from the loss of his brother in a traffic accident earlier this morning, Stoudemire's status with the team remains unknown as he flew to Florida to be with his family, says Newsday's Al Iannazzone. With three more games this week, the Knicks will start Jared Jeffries at power forward, who may be able to boost his trade value as he currently has 13 points and seven rebounds through three quarters this evening.

Trade Machine: Sessions To Knicks

February 4th, 2012 at 10:49pm CST by Jesse Blanchard

The New York Knicks, losers of 11 of their past 14 games, need a point guard. The Cavaliers, having an excellent backup point guard in Ramon Sessions, need as many young pieces around their star rookie point guard Kyrie Irving as possible.

Despite the Knicks previous reluctance to part with last year's prized second round pick Landry Fields, a trade package centered around Fields and Sessions would appear to make sense for both teams.

The Knicks offense has sputtered out of the gate this season, averaging 94.7 ppg–good for 14th in the NBA. They are currently 24th in the league with 18.9 assists per game. Those two aspects of the game had previously been staples of a Mike D'Antoni offense.

Sessions, currently averaging 9.2 points and 4.8 assists per game in just slightly over 20 minutes, would provide the Knicks with the pick and roll ball handler the Knicks sorely lack, allowing D'Antoni to open up his system and properly utilize Amare Stoudemire.

Fields, a surprising second round find, would provide, at worst, quality depth on the wings for a team that leans heavily on Antawn Jamison, Alonzo Gee, Anthony Parker, and Daniel Gibson.

While the Knicks have Baron Davis waiting in the wings, relying on a player with his history of injuries and conditioning troubles in the condensed lockout season could be a recipe for disaster. Not that playing Anthony in a point forward role hasn't been so far this season.

Even though Sessions likely would not be the long term answer, the Knicks have a lot of decisions to make this offseason, and it would be best to evaluate D'Antoni and his system in its natural habitat, with a point guard that can execute his offense.

Anthony Says Team Backs D’Antoni

January 30th, 2012 at 7:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

The 7-13 start by the Knicks, who've lost nine of 10, has coach Mike D'Antoni on the hot seat. Carmelo Anthony says none of that pressure is coming from the locker room.

Anthony says he and his teammates haven't tuned D'Antoni out, according to Ian Begley of ESPN New York.

"Anytime teams are losing, that's the first thing that comes to mind, the coach. But we don't talk about that," Anthony said. "We support Mike 100%. He's here with us, we're here with him, and we're going to roll with that."

Effective up-tempo offense has long been D'Antoni's calling card, but the team ranked 24th in offensive efficiency entering Monday.

Stephen A. Smith of ESPN.com painted a grim picture of D'Antoni's future in a story earlier on Monday.