Knicks restocked since getting Melo
Iman Shumpert celebrates after his steal led to a basket in the second half against the Philadelphia 76ers. (Jan. 11, 2012) Credit: Jim McIsaac
The Knicks made the move for Carmelo Anthony one year ago Tuesday. Coach Mike D'Antoni said last night the deal "depleted some things" but the Knicks have restocked.
Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler and Timofey Mozgov went to Denver in the three-team deal for Anthony. But D'Antoni said with Jeremy Lin, rookie Iman Shumpert and all the established veterans the Knicks are moving in the right direction.
"It's been a little bit up and down," D'Antoni said. "We're trying to retool. Obviously when we got Melo it depleted a lot of things. I think the coffers are getting fuller. We're getting a lot of players in. We're developing players.
"It takes a little while. We're trying to pedal as fast as we can. But we have very good players and they're getting better and they're young. So the future looks good."
Unfair to Carmelo?
Anthony celebrated his anniversary by changing the avatar on his official Twitter page. The new one seems to indicate he feels he's being unfairly judged by those who say he could hurt what the Knicks built with Lin when Anthony was out. His new picture is from 1968 Esquire magazine cover that shows Muhammed Ali with arrows piercing his chest, stomach and leg.
No Slam for Shumpert
Shumpert remains out of the lineup and is out of the Slam Dunk competition because of left patella tendinitis. The rookie guard missed his second straight game and won't play tonight when the Knicks end the pre-All-Star break schedule at Miami. Shumpert was replaced in Saturday's dunk contest by another Jeremy -- Utah's Jeremy Evans.
Davis considered Heat
Baron Davis said he considered signing with the Heat. The point guard said he spoke to Pat Riley, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James.
But, Davis said, "I pretty much had my mind made up that I wanted to play in the Garden, play for the Knicks, play for this organization."
Knicks fix
J.R. Smith didn't dispute a report that his Chinese team fined him for missing practices, but denied that it was in excess of $1 million. "Not to my knowledge," Smith said. "Not even close." . . . Lin made the cover of Sports Illustrated for the second straight week . . . Hawks guard Joe Johnson, who missed last night's game with tendinitis in his left knee, also is out of Sunday's All-Star Game. Boston's Rajon Rondo was picked as a replacement.
