The Knicks have risen from the dead and are back in the Carmelo Anthony hunt, thanks partly to filmmaker Spike Lee.
According to a source familiar with the situation, Walsh has been motivated by information from Lee, a Knicks season-ticket-holder, that Anthony’s first choice is far and away the Knicks. According to the source, Anthony has had several conversations in recent weeks with Lee, who has in turn informed Knicks brass of Anthony’s feelings.
“Carmelo definitely, 100 percent wants to be a Knick,” the source said.
Lee does not work for the organization, so the talks are not considered tampering.
For weeks, Knicks president Donnie Walsh claimed to be on the outside looking in regarding the Anthony trade sweepstakes, but yesterday acknowledged the club at least is having serious dialogue with the Nuggets. Everyone is available in discussions except for Amar’e Stoudemire, sources say.
Although Walsh downplayed an ESPN report they were advancing toward a trade with Denver and had made “significant progress,” the Knicks president admitted talks picked up since training camp began.
Walsh said, however, he expects his current roster to open the season Wednesday in Toronto without Anthony on board. Walsh did not make the trip to Philly for the Knicks’ 118-91 preseason loss last night.
“There’s no imminent trade on the line,” Walsh told The Post. “Over time, we’ve had conversations. Something could get done, something might not get done. Nothing much has changed. There is nothing imminent that is promising right now. It’s in limbo.”
It’s a departure from Walsh’s comments in the past. Walsh had said the Nuggets weren’t interested in doing a deal with the Knicks, feeling they didn’t have the pieces. But at least now Denver is at least willing to talk to them, even if a third team is needed and many things have to happen.
“Denver is in charge,” Walsh said. “I don’t know what they’re going to do.”
One Knicks official cautioned they have not made much progress, but still feel it’s not dead.
For more than a month, the Knicks have been willing to include their young prospects, Anthony Randolph and Danilo Gallinari, Eddy Curry’s expiring contract and an attempt to trade for a first-round pick to ship to Denver. Gallinari sat out last night’s game with a sore wrist and probably won’t play tomorrow in Montreal, but his absences are unrelated to trade talks.
The obstacle — and a major one — is the Nuggets aren’t champing at the bit for Randolph, who has had a mediocre preseason, or the slumping Gallinari. As such, the Knicks will need to involve another team to take one of those players so Denver can get another prospect they like better.
The Nuggets are willing to explore such scenarios instead of telling the Knicks to get lost. Anthony’s agent, Leon Rose, is pushing hard to get Anthony out of Denver, with the Knicks, Nets and Bulls the top three choices.
The longer Anthony remains in Denver, the better it is for the Knicks. They will be a shoo-in to sign him as a free agent if he becomes one. If Denver trades Anthony at February’s deadline to another team as a rental, he’ll still be in play in July.
In recent days, Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni has been overly complementary of Randolph despite his preseason shooting woes and sloppiness — a sign he was trying to either boost his confidence or his trade value.
Randolph’s struggles continued last night in a 2-of-8 performance, not helping the Carmelo cause.
Regarding the trade reports, D’Antoni said yesterday, “It’s just talk. That’s what you guys do. In New York, you have to put on your winter coat. If you want to be here, it’s part of the deal. Be professional and go with it.”
Anthony said after practice he’s unfazed with the uncertainty.
“I’m still able to wake up in the morning, smile, come here, laugh and joke with my teammates, play basketball and compete.”
Stoudemire, who has pushed for an Anthony trade, said he hasn’t heard from Melo in a week-and-a-half.
“We can’t worry about things we can’t control,” Stoudemire said. “Again, Carmelo is a great player, one of the top in the league. We’ll see what happens.”