The NBA owns the New Orleans Hornets, but commissioner David Stern can’t fine Carmelo Anthony for this one.
The tampering gag order is not in effect during the lockout. So Anthony freely admitted yesterday how delighted he would be if Hornets point guard Chris Paul bolted the Big Easy for the Big Apple.
Anthony has spent a lot of this summer hanging with Paul and even playing on his team during barnstorming exhibitions.
PAUL MAKES APPEARANCE AT CARMELO SNEAKER LAUNCH
“If it works out and he comes here and they allow him to come here, you’ll see a smile from ear to ear,” Anthony said during an appearance in Greenwich Village. “It’s not just me. It’s everybody [in New York]. If he decides to leave New Orleans and goes somewhere else, they’ll be feeling the same way I’m feeling.”
Paul can be a free agent in 2012, and the Knicks could have enough cap room to sign him, pending the new salary-cap figure. Notice Anthony’s phrase if “they allow him to come here.”
Anthony traveled to China with Paul and was on his team in Miami for the South Florida Classic two weeks ago and in Winston-Salem, N.C., earlier this month when Paul staged an exhibition in his hometown. If the lockout drags on, they are expected to be teammates around Thanksgiving when Anthony stages a New York area all-star exhibition, possibly at the Meadowlands.
“It’s fun,” Anthony said of playing with Paul. “He’s such a competitor, even in games we play now. He wants the games to be NBA games — the intensity level. He wants everybody to go out and compete. It’s something I’ve really enjoyed.”
Anthony admits he has grown closer to Paul this summer, as well as with Miami’s star duo of Dwyane Wade and LeBron James.
“It’s been great, man,” Anthony said. “This summer — more than any — the time we’ve spent together and not just with Chris. LeBron, Dwyane. Us four, it’s the first time we actually worked out together. This summer brought us closer together than in the past.”
Anthony acknowledged Paul has spent a lot of time in New York during the lockout, and not just because he’s one of the negotiating committee members.
“He spent a lot of time here last year too but people weren’t hearing about it because there was a lot of [other stuff] going on,” Anthony said. “But we don’t talk about [the Knicks]. . . . I’m not one to blow smoke up your [butt]. If I was talking to Chris about coming to New York, I’d tell you. It’s a sensitive situation for him. I stay away from it and we have fun.”
Knicks legend Earl Monroe was in Winston-Salem earlier this month for his college homecoming and attended Paul’s exhibition game.
Monroe, who attended Winston-Salem College, is a family friend of Paul’s. Using Paul as an example, Monroe said the young players are more business savvy than ever despite Stern’s lockout goal of establishing a hard cap to make all 30 teams equal. Monroe said free agents are always going to want to play in the big markets like New York.
“It’s harder than ever for small market teams to keep star players,” Monroe told The Post yesterday during his promotion for Diabetes Restaurant Month in which he’s challenging New York eateries to offer diabetes-friendly options. “Right now Dwight Howard may not want to stay in Orlando. If Chris Paul is not thinking about going back to New Orleans, the bigger markets always are going to be attractive. Younger players are a lot different than older players. They are a little more savvy in business issues.
“You get a situation like Miami [with the Big 3] banding together and ‘Melo coming to New York,” Monroe added. “It’s all about winning a championship in a big market because you can drive a lot more out of that than a small market.”
Monroe spoke briefly with Paul in Winston-Salem. But Paul’s toast at Anthony’s wedding in the summer of 2010 of forming a Big Apple 3 was a pretty good hint.
“I won’t say he has his eye on his New York, but I know conversely New York has its eye on Chris,” said Monroe. “If he chooses to leave New Orleans, I hope he does come here. They’ve spent long time waiting. It would be great with [Amar’e] Stoudemire, ‘Melo and adding someone like Paul, it would be a great asset.”