NEW ORLEANS _ Kyle Lowry is good friends with Carmelo Anthony, shares an agent with Kristaps Porzingis, and he will be a free agent this summer. But that doesn't mean Lowry will consider the Knicks.
Toronto's All-Star point guard will be a sought-after player. The safe bet is that Lowry will re-sign with the Raptors. They can pay him the most money and he's their best player. Beyond that, Lowry is very aware of how Anthony has been treated by team president Phil Jackson, and that could deter him from wanting to play for the Knicks.
"You see it but you don't lock into it," Lowry said. "You look at it when the time comes. Right now I'm so worried about my season. You see it, but you don't immerse yourself into it. You have a lot going on, so you say, 'I'll get back to that when I have time to get back to it.'"
A popular theme over All-Star Weekend has been whether top-flight free agents would consider the Knicks after another drama-filled and _ to this point _ losing season.
Chris Paul will be free this summer also, but he has spoken out about Anthony's situation, and how the Knicks have handled the Charles Oakley incident. So you can probably scratch Paul off the Knicks' wish list. There's more of a possibility of Anthony joining Paul with the Clippers whether it's by Thursday's trade deadline or over the summer.
One possibility for the Knicks is New Orleans point guard Jrue Holiday, whose brother is Knicks back-up swingman Justin Holiday.
Derrick Rose and Brandon Jennings also will be free agents, but they're among the Knicks would could be on the move before Thursday's deadline. If not, they may not return anyway. Both want to play for winning teams, and the Knicks are expected to shake up the roster again.
As for Lowry, it's hard to foresee him leaving a team that reached the conference finals last year and expects to have a long run this year for one that could miss the playoffs for the fourth straight season. But Lowry is a big fan of Anthony's and lauded how he's carried himself this season.
"I think Melo is handling it tremendously," Lowry said. "I think he's handling it like a professional. He's handled it fantastically, and he's playing well. At the end of the day, he's an All-Star and there's a reason for everything. He's handled it fantastically."
