LOS ANGELES Hours before his final meeting with New York Knicks officials, free

agentarmelo Anthon! reache" out to obtain free agent #au Gasol$s %hone number
an" "iscuss with him the %ossibilit! of %la!ing together at &a"ison S'uare Gar"en,
league sources tol" Yahoo S%orts(
)he Knicks ha" e*u"e" an increasing confi"ence the! can hol" off the free+agent
courtshi%s of hicago an" Houston an" were further encourage" with Anthon!$s
"esire to talk to Gasol about New York, sources sai"(
)he Knicks ha,e a core of lea"ershi%, inclu"ing %resi"ent #hil -ackson, coach .erek
/isher an" %oint guar" -ose al"eron, who ha,e strong histor! an" relationshi%s
with Gasol, an" those factors woul" ha,e to %la! a %art in o,ercoming the fact the
Knicks can %a! Gasol onl! the ta*%a!er$s e*ce%tion starting at 01(23 million annuall!(
/or now, hicago an" Oklahoma it! are the most intriguing "estinations to Gasol,
league sources tol" Yahoo S%orts(
Gasol remains a serious target of the &iami Heat, too, sources tol" Yahoo S%orts(
&iami %resi"ent #at 4ile! %lans to meet with Gasol in Los Angeles this weeken"(
Gasol, 11, has been searching for a contract in the 056 million annual range, but
hasn$t rule" out the %ossibilit! of taking a "eal in the mi"le,el e*ce%tion range of 07(1
million annuall!, sources sai"(
8iew %hoto
(
Carmelo Anthony met with the Knicks on Thursday. (AP)
Anthon! foun" the 9ulls$ an" 4ockets$ %resentations to be :tremen"ous,: one source
close to him sai", an" has seeme" to relish in the recruiting %rocess( )he Knicks$
final %itch was im%ortant, an" it is belie,e" that a week of franchises gushing o,er
Anthon! left him nee"ing -ackson to lea,e no "oubt that he was com%letel! wante"
in New York, sources sai"( ;n other wor"s, -ackson riske" trouble if he %la!e" it too
cool(
Anthon! ha" a 2<+hour meeting with the Lakers on )hurs"a! afternoon, but it woul"
take a su""en change of "irection for the Lakers to become a serious conten"er,
sources tol" Yahoo S%orts( Kobe 9r!ant ha" trie" to make it back from a Euro%ean
tri% to atten" the %resentation, but a change in the meeting time ultimatel! left him
unable to "o so( Ne,ertheless, 9r!ant has a strong relationshi% with Anthon! an"
has been talking to him regularl! about =oining the Lakers(
Anthon! is e*%ecte" to take the weeken" to make his "ecision, sources sai", but the
%rocess is fore,er flui"(