As we predicted after Tuesday’s loss to the Pacers, NY Daily News’ Frank Isola is already crafting his latest novel.  This drama involves a largely unproven offensive-minded coach and a seasoned basketball manager at odds with the sycophant son of a billionaire who happens to have gifted a basketball team to his idiot offspring.

Here’s an excerpt from Isola’s latest work:

Dolan, though, went all-in three days before the trading deadline and made a deal that, according to sources, neither Walsh nor D’Antoni endorsed…

The Knicks are 6-6 since acquiring Anthony, including two losses apiece to Cleveland and Indiana. According to NBA.com’s John Schuhmann, Stoudemire and Anthony have played 335 minutes together, and during that time, the Knicks are a plus-1 in points scored.

It’s a small sample, and under normal circumstances, there would be no reason to panic. Only this is not a normal situation. Dolan put his neck out to make the Anthony trade.

Dolan has always wanted to be like his idol, Dallas owner Mark Cuban, and getting Anthony has been his signature moment. That’s a tough spot for D’Antoni, who liked the pre-Melo Knicks with Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler and Raymond Felton.

Is Raymond Felton right about the Nuggets truly being a better team than the Knicks?  If you were to look at the two teams’ records since the big trade last month, you would have to say the Nuggets.  But if you took a closer look at how each team has played, on both ends of the floor, night in and night out…you would still have to say the Nuggets are a better team.

The hope for Knicks fans is that they are truly treating these games as a preseason for the real games that will take place in the playoffs.  That they are experimenting with different offensive sets and getting used to playing with each other in time to “turn it on” for the playoffs.  However, the Knicks have not given fans much reason for this kind of hope.  So the question remains.  Is this what we should come to expect from this Knicks team in the playoffs, or do they have the ability to bring their game to another level that we have not seen yet?

Via HoopsHype:

“We’re a better team (than New York), I feel like. That’s it,’’ said Felton, not elaborating.

Harrington, who played last season for the Knicks, agreed.

“If we had to play them in one game, I think we would win,’’ (Al) Harrington said….

“I think we’ve got a good enough team to surprise some people,’’ Felton said of the postseason.

Via The Bergen Record:

“Chauncey is the furthest away [of the three injured Knicks to returning] but he could play,” D’Antoni said after Tuesday’s practice. “I don’t know. Chauncey could be another day or so but we’re hoping that [today] he wakes up feeling really good.”…

“We’re not going to push him,” D’Antoni said. “He said he feels a lot better, but I don’t know what that means because I thought it felt a lot better the other day.

“When the medical staff, plus Chauncey, say we’re ready to roll, that’s good enough for me. But we’re going to make sure he’s right.”

The injury that Chauncey Billups sustained initially looked bad and kept him out for the final minutes of a close game against the Magic that the Knicks looked poised to win.  After the game, Billups was visibly limping and (to paraphrase) noted it was rare for him to be sidelined by this kind of injury, but it was worse than any thigh bruises he could remember.  (Knick fans have to be asking themselves whether the severity has anything to do with Billups’ age, and how that will play into their long term plans for Billups and at the point guard position)

From there, we heard Chauncey would miss one game…then two…then three…then four.  But the truth is, as long as Toney Douglas and Anthony Carter are leading this team to more wins than losses, the Knicks would be wise not to bring back Billups before he is 100% confident that the injury is healed.

Chauncey’s leadership ability is on display regardless if he is running the point or watching from the bench.  In his absence, we have seen Toney Douglas’ confidence increase sharply.  Seemingly, Billups, serving as his mentor, has broken through to the Knicks young guard in a way that D’Antoni and Raymond Felton could not.  Moreover, Anthony Carter has shown that he still has a little gas left in the tank and fire in his belly.

While it is impossible to argue that the Knicks are better off without Chauncey Billups for the long run, his absence may have fortified the TD/AC combo as the viable backup point guard the Knicks desperately will need going forward.

If last night’s performance in Cleveland is a sign of things to come, Knicks fans will have to wait until at least next season for their team to make some real noise.  Perhaps they were looking ahead to their prime time Sunday night showdown against Lebron James and the Miami Heat, but the Knicks turned in a lackluster performance last night against one the worst teams in the NBA.  Although he finished with 27 points, Carmelo Anthony fouled out late in the fourth quarter after missing a key free throw as the Knicks dropped what should have been a gimme to the Cleveland Cavaliers, 115-109.  It is clear that this team more time to gel. (more…)

Via Denver Post:

Via CBS Sports:

The Knicks have made what was described as their final trade proposal for Carmelo Anthony Sunday, pushing the months-long drama toward its merciful conclusion, CBSSports.com has learned.

The Knicks would send three starters — Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, and Raymond Felton — to Denver for Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Shelden Williams and Anthony Carter, sources said Sunday. The Nuggets would get the Knicks’ first-round pick in 2014, while Minnesota would get Eddy Curry‘s expiring contract and Anthony Randolph from New York. Curry would then be waived, and the Knicks would send as much as $3 million to Minnesota to pay his freight….

A person familiar with the situation told CBSSports.com Sunday that the Nuggets were still working through specifics with the Knicks and were pushing for New York to add Mozgov to the deal. Denver also hasn’t shut the door on the Nets, with whom they have agreed to the framework of a trade, according to the source. But it appears that key figures in the organization have grown comfortable with the Knicks’ offer, which was sweetened significantly after the Nets re-emerged in the discussions during All-Star weekend in Los Angeles.

Via NY Post:

The Post has learned the Nuggets made a whopping demand one week ago that is more exorbitant than recent reports. According to a league source debriefed on Carmelo Anthony negotiations, Denver asked for Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Landry Fields, Raymond Felton, Timofey Mozgov and a first-round pick (obtained via Anthony Randolph) for Anthony and point guard Chauncey Billups….

The Knicks management was flabbergasted, according to the league source.

This is officially a joke.  First, we must question Marc Berman’s “league source.”  Next, we must hit the IGNORE button on all of this Melo chatter.

As news broke yesterday that the Knicks could have landed Carmelo Anthony if they were willing to part with nearly their entire roster, reactions from the Knicks fan base were varied.  Some wondered what Donnie Walsh was waiting for.  Others agreed with Walsh and coach Mike D’Antoni, who believe Denver’s asking price is still way too steep.  Those who preferred Walsh make the deal will be screaming for his head if Anthony is not a Knick next season, through either a trade or via free agency.  Those who think the price was too high will be screaming if Walsh caves in the end.  It seems like Walsh needs to walk a pretty fine line in this game of “chicken” between the Knicks and the Nuggets.  But Donnie Walsh is a veteran of NBA trade negotiations, and knows how to walk that line better than anybody in the business.

Yesterday’s trade rumor included two names that had not come up in prior trade rumors: Raymond Felton and Chauncey Billups.  The Nuggets want to swap the two point guards.  It is not surprising that they would.  Raymond Felton is having a career year and just entering his prime.  Billups is a solid player with big game experience, but is in his mid 30′s, and may not have many good years left.  However, the inclusion of this point guard swap is something the Knicks seem to be open to in a deal for Anthony.  Still, there are clearly other aspects of the proposed trade that Donnie Walsh does not like.  So while a deal to New York is still a possibility, it is far from done.

Okay then…