Lakers superstar will try and convince the departing Knicks star to come to LA.
They might not be at the top of his list, but the Los Angles Lakers do have an ace up their sleeve in the hunt for Carmelo Anthony.
Kobe Bryant.
The 34-year-old is set to speak to Anthony ahead of his pending free agent period after opting out of the final year of his contract with the New York Knicks to become a free agent.
“Though the Los Angeles Lakers are not on Anthony’s current list, Kobe Bryant plans to recruit him to the team. Bryant, who is close with Anthony, spoke to him by telephone when they were in separate parts of Europe earlier this week,” ESPN said.
“Bryant told ESPN.com in a text message that he plans to meet with Anthony, as well.”
The Knicks have made some moves in the post-Melo era as they sent Tyson Chandler back to Dallas along with Raymond Felton, with only Jose Calderon realistically a chance of playing solid game time in New York.
The rest, such as Shane Larkin and Samuel Dalembert are expected to be waived to free up room under the salary cap, something that has been very restrictive for the Knicks in the past two seasons.
If ‘Melo’ does go to Los Angeles, and it is a big if even with Bryant in his ear, he could shape the new Lakers and their direction on the court as they transition into him being the full-time leader, taking over from ‘the Mamba’.
However, Anthony said the big reason why he is leaving the Knicks is to win, and do it now.
So while Dallas and Houston are two of the teams at the top of the tree for Anthony signature, they are behind Chicago in the pecking order as Anthony will only have to battle the likes of Indiana and Miami (without without LeBron James) for the top place in the East.
While in the West, Anthony would be taking on Portland, Houston (if he signs elsewhere), San Antonio, the Clippers and Oklahoma City just to make it to the NBA finals.
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