Kobe Bryant said he’s not surprised to hear reports Carmelo Anthony may want to make Los Angeles his permanent workplace this summer, playfully taking a shot at the frigid New York weather.
Bryant, speaking before the Knicks’ routine 110-103 matinee victory at the Garden, said he spoke to Anthony Friday to congratulate him on topping Bryant’s Garden scoring record by putting up 62 points.
Anthony added 35 to the mix in Sunday’s win over the injury-ravaged Lakers, with Bryant sitting on the bench with a left-knee injury and unable to go mano-a-mano versus Anthony.
But Bryant said he wouldn’t mind giving Anthony advice on his free agency eventually. The Lakers should have cap space to sign a player to a maximum contract.
“Everybody wants to play in Los Angeles,’’ Bryant said in a pregame press conference. “New York’s a beautiful place, don’t get me wrong but it’s colder than [expletive] out here. Palm trees and beaches obviously is more appealing. But all jokes aside, I think that players, when that time comes, they have to make the best decision for them and their families. I try not to think about it too much. If he wants to call me for advice later, I’d be more than happy to give it to him.’’
Anthony countered after the game when told of Bryant’s remarks about palm trees and the stark New York weather.
“I love the snow,’’ said Anthony, who shot 14 of 31. “I played in Syracuse where you get 25 inches.’’
Anthony said Saturday — the day after his 62 had topped Kobe’s 61-point Garden record — was a day for relaxing and watching the snow fall.
“Yesterday was sleep, I was resting,’’ Anthony said. “I was really tired [Saturday]. I chilled in the house. It snowed a little bit. I got a chance to look at the view and relaxed.’’
At halftime Sunday, Bryant and Anthony could be seen chatting it up. They are good friends and have been U.S. Olympic teammates twice. But Anthony would have to take $32 million less under the rules of the collective bargaining agreement to sign with the Lakers, who have fallen into an abyss at 16-29.
The two players may or may not have been talking about the weather.
“I can’t give you everything [we say],’’ Anthony said. “A lot of times it’s just quote unquote, shooting the [expletive], having fun, laughing and joking. It’s not always business we talk about. Just having fun, laughing, catching up.’’
Bryant said he got a lot of advance notice Anthony was stalking his Garden scoring record, set Feb. 2, 2009.
“I got a lot of messages from people saying he’s going after your record tonight,’’ said Bryant, who could return after the All-Star break. “It’s amazing. He went to work, got hot and didn’t cool off.’’
Bryant said it was a nice mark to have, but isn’t upset his buddy owns it now. However, he got in a little dig, saying: “If I was a competitor I’d say Melo has more opportunities to set a Garden record than I did. But I’m not a competitor so I won’t say that.
“Of course I called him that same night just to congratulate him and to say today you can cool off,’’ Bryant added. “[Sunday] he can afford to go 2 for 40.’’
That didn’t happen, of course. But despite Anthony’s 97 points in two games, he is suffering through a miserable 17-27 season.
Anthony already carries the stigma he only has advanced beyond the first round of the playoffs twice in his 10 seasons. However, Anthony has never missed the playoffs and the Knicks currently are two games out of the eighth seed.
Bryant appeared to send a signal Anthony isn’t going to want to stay in a place where he can’t win a title.
“It’s important for the organization to understand the level of competitiveness that you have, that you won’t tolerate having a team that’s not in contention for an NBA championship, which is what I did,’’ Bryant said. “You rub a lot of people the wrong way, but sometimes you’ve got to kick down a few doors and [tick] some people off and trust that it’ll pay off in the long run. And if you’re willing to do that, more times than not you’ll be OK.”
Bryant understands Anthony’s predicament he doesn’t want to be known just as a great scorer but a champion.
“He’s a great player just like the rest of them,’’ Bryant said. “He’s obviously on the upper tier of players. It’s tough for players a lot of times, you’re really subject to the culture around you in terms of players and talent like players from the past Dominique Wilkins and Bernard King. It contribute to a lot of frustrations.
“That’s why I was so frustrated with the organization in 2006 and 2007 because I didn’t want to be known as a scorer. I wanted to make sure I had a team around me that could contend for a championship. The important thing is championships. It’s the only way you can shake it, only way a top scorer can shake it.’’