ShareThisMadison Square Garden is jumping again. The New York Knickerbockers have reclaimed a presence inside The World's Most Famous Arena.
But amid all this excitement, the Knicks still need to get 'Melo.
Friday night's 22-point loss at home to Miami verified the Knicks still require the services of Denver forward Carmelo Anthony.
Three offseason acquisitions have paid immediate dividends for the Knicks:
-- Free agent power forward Amar'e Stoudemire is the league's second-leading scorer (26.6) and putting together MVP credentials with nine straight 30-point games.
-- Former Charlotte point guard Raymond Felton is assembling career numbers (18.3 points; 9.0 assists; 1.9 steals).
-- Stanford shooting guard Landry Fields, stolen with the 39th pick in the 2010 draft and costing a measly $473,604, arguably could be having the second-most impressive rookie season (10.3 ppg; 7.4 rpg) behind Blake Griffin.
With notable contributions from small forward Wilson Chandler, forward Danilo Galinari, backup guard Toney Douglas and reserve center Ronny Turiaf, the Knicks were able to win eight straight and 13 of 14 before getting beat at home by the best two teams in the East -- Boston (118-116) and Miami (113-91).
But someone's missing.
When the Nuggets played at MSG last Sunday, New Yorkers let Anthony know how they felt. "I had people yelling out the window, 'We need you in New York,'" Anthony said. "It feels good to hear that."
Despite denials from Anthony, reports claim he will not sign the $65 million contract extension offered by the Nuggets unless he is traded to the Knicks.
Anthony also could be traded and sign an extension with his new team up until June 30, the last day of the current collective bargaining agreement.
Presumably, Anthony would rather not go the free agent route and risk a substantial pay cut under the new CBA.
The Knicks are trying to unload Eddy Curry's expiring $11.28 million contract, but a trade for Anthony also would include a mixture of Galinari, Fields, Chandler or Anthony Randolph.
Nuggets rookie general manager Masai Ujiri repeatedly has tried to squash rumors of Anthony's pending departure.
"Denver is his team," Ujiri said last week. "He's done well in Denver. He started his career there. He's grown with the city. I think he likes that."
The next day, Anthony heard reports he was headed to the New Jersey Nets and responded, "I haven't heard that. I'm officially saying I know nothing about it."
The day after that, Ujiri admitted he is "listening aggressively" to offers for Anthony.
Clear as mud.
The Knicks want to deal before the Feb. 24 trade deadline and get Anthony on board under the current CBA. The Nuggets seem to be coming around to same line of thinking, afraid they might lose Anthony and get nothing in return.
Free agent LeBron James decided last July he wanted to take his talents to South Beach rather than Manhattan, and his triple-double Friday against the Knicks (32 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists) left everyone wondering what might have been.
New Orleans point guard Chris Paul raised a glass at Anthony's wedding last summer and toasted the thought of joining forces with Stoudemire and Anthony in New York.
Knicks fans also are ready to raise a glass to Anthony.
(Contact John Rohde at jrohde(at)opubco.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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