OKLAHOMA CITY — Carmelo Anthony won’t be replacing Kevin Love with the Cavaliers, but he will be taking his spot on the Eastern Conference All-Star team.
After saying as early as Wednesday morning he wasn’t sure he would change his vacation plans which had him headed to a warm island, needing the break to decompress, Anthony had to accept the NBA’s invitation to be an injury replacement for Love in New Orleans on Sunday.
The collective bargaining agreement states a player can’t pass up an All-Star invite if he played in a prior game. It doesn’t differentiate for an injury replacement. It’s Anthony’s 10th All-Star appearance and eighth straight.
“I’m pretty sure they’ll reach out,’’ Anthony said at Wednesday’s morning shootaround. “That’s a decision I’ll have to make.”
Asked if he was leaning toward vacation, Anthony said he was.
“That’s still my case,’’ Anthony said. “When they call I would have to really talk to them and discuss that. Everything is booked.’’
Anthony’s game Wednesday against the Thunder still could have been his last in a Knicks uniform with the trade deadline approaching. He said he expects to be a Knick Feb. 23 when the regular season resumes in Cleveland, but refused to guarantee it. Because he holds all the cards with a no-trade clause, he could have declared he’s not going anywhere.
“I never thought I would be anywhere else,’’ Anthony said. “You was thinking that? You was writing about that?”
Told he had given himself an out, Anthony said, “I didn’t give any indication of that.”
Anthony repeatedly has said he would consider a move if Knicks management desperately wanted to rebuild.
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