Knicks president Donnie Walsh, after weeks of contending the Nuggets didn’t want to make a Carmelo Anthony deal with him, acknowledged Wednesday his club is at least in the mix again.
Walsh downplayed an ESPN report the Knicks were advancing toward a trade with Denver, but admitted talks picked up recently since training camp began.
“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.”
For more than a month, the Knicks knew they’d have to include their young prospects, Anthony Randolph and Danilo Gallinari, Eddy Curry’s expiring contract, and attempt to trade for a first-round pick to ship to Denver.
The obstacle is, the Nuggets aren’t champing at the bit for Randolph or Gallinari. The Knicks will need a third team involved to take at least one of those players so Denver can get another prospect they like better.
The Nuggets now appear willing to explore such scenarios instead of telling the Knicks to back off. Anthony’s agent, Leon Rose, is pushing hard to get Anthony out of Denver, with the Knicks, Nets and Bulls the top three choices.
“Denver is in charge,” Walsh said. “I don’t know what they’re going to do.”
In recent days, Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni has been overly complementary of Randolph despite his preseason shooting woes and sloppiness, a sign the coach was trying to either boost the forward’s confidence or trade value.
“(Randolph’s) good,” D’Antoni said. “He’s played well the last two games. Maybe a couple of weeks ago, I was like, oh, my gosh. He’s taken coaching very well. He’s focused on becoming a good player at 21. We have to have a little patience.”
The ESPN report said the Knicks have made “significant progress” in their attempt to land the high-scoring forward.
The report adds that the Nets likely are out of the bidding, preferring to hold on to rookie power forward Derrick Favors, a key component of a four-team trade involving Charlotte and Utah that nearly was completed last month.
New York reportedly has been Anthony’s preferred destination all along. He has not signed a three-year, $65 million contract extension the Nuggets offered in June, and the team does not want to lose him to free agency and get nothing in return.
Anthony said after practice Wednesday the rumblings don’t change anything about his preparations for the upcoming season.
“I’m still able to wake up in the morning, smile, come here, laugh and joke with my teammates, play basketball and compete,” he said.
Anthony told Fanhouse.com on Tuesday that re-signing with Denver remains an option and he expects to be with the Nuggets when they open the regular season next week.
With AP