The movement for Carmelo Anthony to slide back to small forward, making room for Andrea Bargnani continued Friday.
Figuring Iman Shumpert has a nice training camp and solidifies the starting shooting guard slot, it is the only decision Mike Woodson may have to make regarding his starting lineup during training camp: whether to start Bargnani at power forward or have Metta World Peace as the small forward and keep Anthony at the 4, the position he thrived at last season.
“I’m going to experiment a little with the big lineup,” Woodson said of a Tyson Chandler-Bargnani-Anthony frontcourt. “Since I’ve been here, Melo’s been pretty good at the four. That’s not to say he can’t play three.”
For the second straight day, Anthony seemed to have no qualms over a position switch. He moved to power forward last season only after Amar’e Stoudemire broke down during camp with his first knee surgery.
“I’ve been a three my whole career,’’ Anthony said. “I just started playing the four last year. We’ll see what happens. My game is not going to change.’
“Being around Woody the last two years, I know if it’s not going right then he’s going to pull me back to the four and make adjustments. My mindset is to be prepared for that. If that times comes I’ll just slide back over to the three or the four.’’
Anthony said he also could work well alongside World Peace, a small forward who now is more adept at guarding burly power forwards after losing a step on defense.
“Metta is a versatile player,’’ Anthony said. “He can guard big and small guys. I’m looking forward to being on the court with him, an extra defender who can create havoc.’’
*
The Knicks shopped heavily for extra big men this summer, knowing Stoudemire’s uncertain knees. Asked if center Jason Collins was on the team’s radar, Woodson said, “His name came up.” Collins, the 34-year-old journeyman, revealed he is gay in a magazine article published earlier this year but remains unsigned.
*
The Knicks added former Nets draft pick Chris Douglas-Roberts to their training-camp roster and cut former St. John’s swingman Justin Brownlee after one day. Roberts, a 6-foot-7 swingman, has a career averages of 7.5 points on 44.2 percent shooting over 20.3 minutes in 161 games (52 starts) in four seasons with the Nets, Bucks and Mavericks. The Knicks need guys to chew up minutes in preseason so they don’t have to burn Anthony, with J.R. Smith out.
“[Douglas-Roberts has] been around the league,’’ Woodson said. “He’s not young. He’ll be part of training camp and see how he fits in.’’
The Detroit native originally was selected by the Nets following his junior season at the University of Memphis in the second round (40th overall) of the 2008 draft. Brownlee is expected to join the Knicks D-League affiliate in Erie, Pa.