The Los Angeles Lakers' pursuit of free agent Carmelo Anthony on Thursday started off with high hopes, but by the end of the day, they may have felt as if they had been double-crossed.
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Yahoo! Sports reported Thursday that after Anthony met with the Lakers and New York Knicks, he sought and obtained the phone number for Lakers' free-agent big man Pau Gasol to gauge his interest of playing in New York.
Gasol is somewhat familiar with the Knicks management. He played alongside rookie coach Derek Fisher, and both were coached by Knicks team president Phil Jackson. Gasol also has strong ties to point guard and fellow Spaniard Jose Calderon.
The Lakers made their pitch to Anthony on Thursday afternoon, according to ESPN.com. Guard Kobe Bryant was supposed to be part of the Lakers presentation team but was delayed en route back from a family vacation in Europe and did not arrive in time.
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According to ESPN, the Lakers thought their presentation went "really well," a person in on their pitch said.
"I don't know how big of a shot we have, but I think we have a shot," the person said.
The Lakers offered Anthony a max contract and also presented scenarios in which the Lakers could sign him and LeBron James.
But Yahoo! Sports later refuted the Lakers claims of optimism.
"Anthony had a 2½-hour meeting with the Lakers on Thursday afternoon, but it would take a sudden change of direction for the Lakers to become a serious contender, sources told Yahoo Sports."
So Anthony apparently set out to steal Gasol away from the Lakers, or at least try to convince him to take the taxpayer's midlevel exception of $3.28 million, which is all the Knicks can offer Gasol.
That'll teach Kobe not to give himself extra time try to fly halfway around the world to convince a free agent to join the Lakers.
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