With NBA All-Star weekend in New York City this year, Carmelo Anthony will not only be able to represent his Knicks in the All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden, but will also look to capitalize on using the weekend as a recruiting ploy. Some of Melo’s fellow All-Stars will be free agents this summer, like he was during last year’s festivities.
Carmelo via the New York Post on making those plugs next weekend:
“It will create some great momentum here in the city just by having All-Star Weekend in New York,” Anthony said. “Energy … will be surrounding the city, starting on Monday, Tuesday, all through the week. And just for me to kind of be that ambassador for the city for the weekend, that means a lot, that I can represent New York here in my hometown. Kind of welcome everybody.”
“Everybody will be in their own kind of zone on All-Star Weekend. The real effect that they will feel will be during the game here at the Garden, kind of seeing what the Garden has to offer not just for New York Knicks but for everything,” Anthony said. “And that is a big moment — that Sunday in the All-Star Game.
“The Garden will be lit up, it will be bright, there will be a lot of people in there, it will be loud and it will be exciting. So for other players to see that, I am pretty sure that will be impressive,” Anthony said.
In terms of upcoming free agents, Marc Gasol, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Paul Millsap will all be participating in the All-Star game itself. Of course most players who aren’t participating in All-Star festivities are still hanging around, making them available to Carmelo for potential wooing over the weekend as well.
After doing loads of dumping and trading this is a huge offseason for the Knicks, one they’re looking to at least start as a turning point between the NBA Draft and free agency. Carmelo’s recruiting tactics are definitely magnified by All-Star weekend being in New York, but ultimately Melo is still up against the fact that a number of these players are happy in their current situations.
Goran Dragic has been one to express direct interest in the Knicks as a restricted free agent this summer. That would be a start. Dragic won’t be participating at All-Star weekend, but if he’s around you better believe he’ll get a warm welcome from Carmelo, along with any and all of his All-Star peer potential recruits.
