USA Today: New York Knicks Team Report

via USAToday

The Knicks aren't as much in pursuit of Carmelo Anthony as they are seemingly on a collision course for the disenchanted superstar, who is certainly following the LeBron James exit strategy. The Denver Nuggets don't want to be left in ruins the way the Cavaliers were this past summer, so they're trying to be proactive. The issue is Anthony and the leverage he holds in the important caveat in any worthwhile trade for him: signing a three-year, $65 million extension that has been sitting on the table since May.

Those close to him say he would sign it if it meant going to New York, but as a four-team deal with the Nets fell through, the Nuggets remain uninterested in dealing with the Knicks.

Why? The message sent via media reports is that the Knicks don't have the pieces to get a trade done. One obstacle is that the Nuggets don't view young talents such as Danilo Gallinari or Anthony Randolph as enough value in that kind of deal. Then there is the apparent stumbling block that the earliest first-round pick the Knicks can offer is in 2014.

But team sources say Donnie Walsh is confident that he can acquire a first-round pick if necessary. He apparently already knows where he'd need to go to get it. So that's not really an issue.

"In general, I've heard that New York just doesn't have the pieces," a defiant Walsh said. "We have the pieces, you just don't know it."

The real obstacle in the way of connecting Carmelo and the Knicks — two entities who have a mutual infatuation — is the Nuggets themselves. The Knicks believe Denver has no desire to deal with them because they have no desire to do exactly what Anthony wants. And, on top of that, ESPN.com reported that Nuggets' officials feel the Knicks have tampered with Anthony by communicating with his representation via back-channel sources.

Actually, there is one prominent Knicks' representative who has been in direct contact with Anthony. That would be Amar'e Stoudemire, who shared a suite with Carmelo at Yankee Stadium earlier this month for the Jay-Z and Eminem concert. Stoudemire, who in July openly talked about bringing Carmelo to the Knicks, has tried to keep the talk to a minimum these days.

"Right now we have to focus on what we have here," Stoudemire said when training camp opened. "We can't have any distractions."

But they can hold out hope that after missing out on LeBron this summer, there's still a chance to get Carmelo in the winter.