HoopsHype.com Rumors

For good luck, Scoop Jardine placed his belongings by Jeremy Lin's locker in Westchester before his workout. Scoop said delivering passes to fellow Syracuse standout Carmelo Anthony would be "the easiest job in the world.'' Says Melo texted him often this season as Syracuse soared atop rankings. Hoping #Knicks pick him at 48 and feels did real well in his matchup with Tu Holloway today. Sulia

New York Knicks, Draft, Carmelo Anthony, Tu Holloway, Scoop Jardine 

SI.com: All right, a theoretical question. You're a coach who likes an open floor, an active point guard, quick shots, pick-and-rolls, "dribble-ats," lots of movement. Carmelo is a post-up player who needs the ball and demands the ball. He's great but he kills the clock. Can that ever work? Was it doomed from the beginning? M.D.: Look, I've coached players who post up. Heck, Amar'e [Stoudemire, a Knicks forward] has been a post-up player. We used to post up Boris Diaw a lot in Phoenix. There are always things that can be done by mixing it up. Now, was it the best situation for my coaching philosophy? No. But there's never one answer for why things don't work out. SI.com

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, Coaching, Mike D'Antoni 

With Mike Woodson on the verge of officially having his “interim’’ tag removed as coach of the Knicks, his predecessor, Mike D’Antoni broke his two-month silence. D’Antoni said he was not forced to resign, said “an obstacle had to be removed’’ and did not deny Carmelo Anthony was at the root of his decision. A source told The Post D’Antoni and Anthony have not spoken since the former coach resigned March 14. New York Post

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, Coaching, Mike D'Antoni 

Fifteen months after the blockbuster trade that brought Anthony to New York and united him with Stoudemire, the Knicks are still in search of greatness, or even consistency. They are 31-40 when both stars play, including a 1-7 record in the postseason. So the doubts persist. “I get tired of hearing that, man,” Anthony said Thursday, when the Knicks conducted their annual postseason exit interviews. “I get tired of hearing about, Can it work? Will it work? We’re here to play basketball. When we win, it works. When we lose, it don’t work.” Anthony insisted: “We’ll figure it out. I don’t really think it’s something that’s that difficult to figure out.” New York Times

New York Knicks, Amare Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony 

“I get tired of hearing, ‘Can it work? Will it work?’ ” an annoyed Anthony said Thursday at the Knicks’ practice facility in Greenburgh. “We’re here to play basketball. We’ll figure it out. I don’t think it’s something that’s that difficult to figure out.” New York Daily News

New York Knicks, Amare Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony 

On a TNT telecast, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal ripped him for not making his teammates better and being more playmaker. Anthony didn’t appreciate the remarks. “I don’t really care what [those] guys say,’’ Anthony said. “I know what I have to do. I’m out there playing. Those guys aren’t out there playing. They’re looking at it from the sidelines. As far as what they have to say, I’m not too concerned.’’ New York Post

New York Knicks, Amare Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, Charles Barkley 

Anthony and Chandler are expected to be teammates this summer on Team USA in the London Olympics in July and August. “We’ll spend a lot of time together training,’’ Chandler said. “That’s more time on the floor together. When you get the opportunity to play alongside against the best players in the world everyday in practice, with an incredible coaching staff, it does nothing but makes you better. Myself and Melo, we’ll bring that back to the Knicks next season.’’ New York Post

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler, USA Basketball 

Woodson has not yet hired a new representative, but he is considering Creative Artists Agency, which represents Carmelo Anthony. The Post reported Wednesday Dolan has told Woodson he wants him back but contract terms still have to be worked out. New York Post

New York Knicks, Mike Woodson, Carmelo Anthony, Coaching, Larry Brown, Agents 

Last week, Woodson said he needs to push Anthony to come back next season "in better shape." Anthony's conditioning has come up before and is a sore subject with him, as he showed by getting defensive when it came up Thursday. "I think you guys looked at that a little bit too much, overanalyzed that," he said. "We all can come back in better shape, better condition. "I'm not going against what coach Woodson said. But I felt like I was in phenomenal shape, especially coming down the stretch, late March, April, the whole month of April, even coming down to the playoffs." Newsday

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony 

Dwyane Wade on LeBron James going against old rival Carmelo Anthony: “You can see it on both of their faces’’ about how they love to compete against each other. “I know that Melo is going to push LeBron. He’s going to challenge (him).’’ Sulia

Miami Heat, New York Knicks, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony 

Carmelo still upbeat tonight. "I feel confident in the team and where we’re headed despite everything that happened this season. It’s been up and down season for us. We competed. In the future, I feel good competing against the top teams in the Eastern Conference. I do consider our team being up there top three, four teams in the East.'' Sulia

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony 

Chris Tomasson: LeBron James on Carmelo Anthony: "Our friendship goes beyond basketball but during the game, there’s really no friends.'' Twitter

Denver Nuggets, Miami Heat, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony 

Shane Battier said he didn't think much of getting awarded the game ball after the Heat's Game 3 playoff win for his defense against Knicks star Carmelo Anthony, who was just 7-for-23 from the field and finished with 22 points. "Because guess what? If he'd made more of his shots, no game ball," Battier said after Tuesday's practice on the eve of Game 5 at AmericanAirlines Arena. "And if he misses more of those shots in Game 4, guess who gets the game ball?" South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Miami Heat, New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, Shane Battier 

Anthony had his best scoring game of the series, making 15-of-29 field goals and 10 of 14 free throws for 41 points, including the tiebreaking 3- pointer with a hand in his face with 54.5 seconds left. He scored 10 of the Knicks' final 14 points. "You can always do things better," Battier said in response to whether he questioned anything he did against Anthony. "But it's a game of errors. As long as you give the effort, understand what you did right and what you did poorly, you don't play the results. You play the process and you live with it." South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Miami Heat, New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, Shane Battier 

The longest streak is over, Baron Davis is done but the Knicks live to see another day. Barely. Dwyane Wade came up short on a last-second 3-pointer as the Knicks, with Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire missing key free throws in the final minute, survived for an 89-87 Game 4 victory. By avoiding the sweep, the Knicks won their first playoff game since April 29, 2001. They had lost an NBA record 13 straight postseason games. Game 5 is Wednesday in Miami at 7 p.m. No team in NBA history has ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit. Anthony led all scorers with 41 points including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 54.5 seconds left that made it 87-84. Anthony was then fouled shooting a three but he missed two of three free throws and LeBron James answered with a three-point play with 20.9 seconds left. New York Daily News

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, Injuries, Baron Davis 

But if you’re going to lose, you might as well do it in the greatest city in the world, where the fans still love you. “I don’t regret my decision to come here,’’ (Anthony) said. “It’s been a year and a half. You know things haven’t gone the way we want them to go. But I’m not worried about that. I love my decision. I stick with my decision. I’m in New York. I’m a New York Knick. I’m gonna be here.’’ New York Daily News

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony 

The Heat has been that good in this first-round series, especially at the defensive end, where they have reduced Carmelo Anthony to an ineffective 21 point-per-game scorer, shooting a dismal 34%. But a sweeping is still a sweeping. “It won’t sit well,’’ said Tyson Chandler, who won a ring 11 months ago in Dallas. “Whenever you get swept, it’s embarrassing.’’ New York Daily News

Miami Heat, New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler 

According to a person familiar with the situation, Woodson would like Anthony to shed some weight before training camp. Anthony, who has been outclassed by the Heat’s LeBron James in this first-round disaster, has the worst NBA playoff winning percentage, .308 (a record of 16-36), for any player who has been in at least 50 games. “Expectations aren’t going to change in New York, you know that,’’ Woodson said. “They shouldn’t. Rightfully so. Anthony’s going to have to raise his game. He’s got to do things this summer to better his game — as well as Tyson [Chandler] and Amar’e [Stoudemire]. If I’m the head coach here, I have to make sure it happens. It’s the only way to get out of the rut in terms of him being a first-round exit. He’s got to change that.” New York Post

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony 

But Anthony and his teammates have underachieved in this series. James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade have proven their superiority. “A lot of things have to happen this summer,’’ Woodson said. “My situation, I don’t know what’s going to happen. If I am back, this summer is going to be very pivotal in terms of developing these guys, especially Amar’e, Tyson and Anthony. They’ve got to be better.As an organization, it’s my job to better this team and develop the players to a point this won’t happen next season. ’’ New York Post

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony 

The New York Knicks traded for Carmelo Anthony because they thought he would lead them to a championship. But considering the way Anthony's teams have performed in the postseason, the Knicks would be lucky to even win a game. Anthony played his 50th career playoff game Saturday, a 100-67 massacre at the hands of the Miami Heat. Heading into Monday's Game 2, Anthony now owns a 16-34 career postseason record (.320)—the worst of any player who has appeared in that many postseason games since 1991-92. Wall Street Journal

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony