Carmelo Anthony rumors: New York Knicks return looking more likely

By Jack Crosby | Jul 2, 2014

Apr 6, 2014; Miami, FL, USA; New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) walks back to the bench during the second half against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena. Miami won 102-91. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /

As Carmelo Anthony goes on his free agent tour, the red carpet is being rolled out for him everywhere he goes. On Tuesday he was greeted by a very nice Chicago Bulls contingent that consisted of Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah; and on Wednesday, the Houston Rockets gave him quite the warm welcome as well.

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Now you would think that these teams wouldn’t feel the need to go too far to convince Melo to leave the New York Knicks, because that’s a foregone conclusion, right?

Well, it seems that might not be the case after all. Recently, the first team to meet with Anthony, the Bulls, have shown some new-found interest in Pau Gasol, and as ESPN’s Marc Stein reports, that might be because they had a difficult time convincing him to leave New York.

Pau Gasol Addendum No. 1: Sources say Bulls' rising interest in Pau IS indeed reflection of concern they can't convince Melo to leave NYK
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 3, 2014

To that point, with the Bulls long being considered the front runner for his services, the other teams in pursuit might be just a bit nervous, while the Knicks and Phil Jackson may be smirking in the Big Apple.

If Bulls worried about THEIR Melo chances tells you what Rockets/Mavs/Lakers up against. Maybe Knicks' well-chronicled confidence justified
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 3, 2014

Again, for the longest time, and maybe for headline purposes, the idea of Carmelo leaving the Knicks has almost been seen as a given. When Jackson expressed confidence about Carmelo returning recently, people wondered if he was delusional.

Well, Jackson might not be as out of touch with reality as some thought he was.