Hornets All-Star point guard could force way out of New Orleans
Carmelo Anthony (from l.), Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James help feed needy in Brooklyn.
The question regarding Chris Paul ’s possible future employer brought a big smile to Carmelo Anthony ’s face as if it were a little inside joke between him and the New Orleans Hornets’ All-Star point guard.
Except the idea of pairing Paul with Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire may be the worst-kept secret in basketball. And even though Paul sidestepped inquires about the Knicks as deftly as he dribbles around defenders, Tuesday afternoon in Brooklyn served as the unofficial start of the Paul sweepstakes.
“I try not to pay attention to all that different type of stuff,” Paul said. “My heart is in New Orleans right now. The reason I’m here in New York, like what Melo just said, is for him.”
Four of the league’s marquee names - Anthony, Paul, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James - handed out boxes of food at the Madison Square Boys & Girls Club in Brooklyn on Tuesday. There were united in one cause, and perhaps at some point in the not-so-distant future they will be fighting for the same goal: an NBA championship.
Wade, James and Chris Bosh established the blueprint last summer by taking less money to join forces in Miami. Within days, James was advising Anthony and Paul to join Amar’e Stoudemire in New York. Anthony eventually forced his way out of Denver, and now Paul, who can become a free agent on July 1, can do the same.
Paul’s situation is unique because the Hornets are being run by the NBA, so in theory commissioner David Stern can dictate where Paul ends up. That could be looked at one of two ways. It makes sense for Paul to land in a major market, but one of the league’s goals during the lockout was to make it tougher for franchise players to leave the clubs that drafted them.
“I don’t see the league trading him to the Knicks because that goes against everything they said during the lockout,” said one prominent agent who does not represent Paul. “They don’t want players like Chris Paul just getting up and leaving.”
The Knicks used most of their assets to acquire Anthony last February and will likely have to wait until they have cap room in the summer to sign Paul outright. Paul would be leaving millions on the table if he walked away from New Orleans, but the proposed new labor agreement would not preclude him from doing a sign-and-trade with the Hornets.
Until then, Anthony has a season to prepare for, and the Knicks are expected to open on Christmas against Boston. The truncated preseason won’t give Anthony and Stoudemire much time to develop chemistry. Last season, the Knicks went 14-18 with Anthony, including being swept by Boston in the first round of the playoffs.
“We had a short run last year when I came here to New York,” Anthony said. “And now we get a training camp together we get some time to jell. We’re just excited about this year. ”
Carmelo Anthony declined to address the scandal at Syracuse Tuesday, calling it “a sensitive situation, a sensitive topic that I don’t even want to go near.”
Anthony played one season at Syracuse, leading the Orange to its only NCAA championship in 2003.
“My heart goes out to the families and that’s it,” Anthony said at the Madison Square Boys & Girls Club in Brooklyn. “I have no comment on the Fine situation or the Boheim situation.”
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