While his trade is in limbo, New York Knicks superstar Carmelo Anthony has reached to his young teammates weeks before training camp. According to international basketball reporter David Pick, Anthony has texted words of encouragement to Kristaps Porzingis, Willy Hernangomez, and Mindaugas Kuzminskas. Porzingis, Hernangomez, and Kuzminskas are all campaigning for their respective countries in the EuroBasket. There’s no development in the reported trade between the Knicks and the Houston Rockets for Anthony, increasing the possibility that the 10-time All-Star will join his teammates in training camp.
According to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, Anthony will not create a problem in training camp because he was never a problem to the coaching staff or the front office. Kyler added that Anthony is liked by teammates, with some of them wanting him to stay with the Knicks. Recently, Ian Begley of ESPN reported that the Knicks tried to bring a third team into the mix by including the Milwaukee Bucks in trade talks. The name of Bucks young player Jabari Parker emerged during discussions, but it was unclear who brought up his name. However, the Knicks were unwilling to take in a young player with a history of ACL into their fold. As of now, the Knicks are in a bind as Anthony wants to waive his no-trade clause only for the Rockets.
Young Knicks impressive in EuroBasket
Frank Kalinski of New York Daily News reported that Porzingis has been impressive for Latvia in the EuroBasket. During group play, Porzingis was fifth in scoring, averaging 22.4 points per game as he carried Latvia to a four-game winning streak. He also made 41 percent of his shots from beyond the arc and led the tournament in blocks with 10.
Hernangomez, who plays for Spain, is averaging 10.6 points on 51.3 percent shooting from the field in his first five games. Despite playing behind brothers Pau and Marc Gasol, Hernangomez has emerged as a top-three performer in scoring and rebounding for Spain. The 6-foot-9 Kuzminskas, for his part, is averaging 14.2 points per game for Team Lithuania.
Knicks now valued at $3.5 billion
After the Rockets were sold for $2.2 billion, the price of the Knicks ballooned to $3.5 billion, according to Gerry Smith of Bloomberg. Last July, Forbes has placed the value of the Knicks at $3.3 billion, the highest in the NBA and seventh in the world. The Los Angeles Lakers are the second-mot valuable NBA team, with a value pegged at $3 billion.
