Carmelo Anthony disclosed on Wednesday that his New York Knicks almost got Dwyane Wade this summer but they were two days too late, according to his latest interview following a Team USA practice in Las Vegas.
The former Miami Heat superstar signed a two-year, $47.5 million contract with the Chicago Bulls on July 6. Just four days before he started negotiating with different NBA clubs, including the Knicks, for a potential deal as he finds the initial offer of more or less $10 million a year from the Heat is too low for his requirements.
On July 3, New York reached an agreement with former Charlotte Hornets shooting guard Courtney Lee that is worth $50 million for four years, which is roughly $12 million per year.
The day after that, the Knicks signed Brandon Jennings to a one-year, $5 million contract, which effectively took them out of the race for Wade as their salary cap could no longer accommodate the three-time NBA champion.
Many analysts then believed that the "Heat-lifer" will eventually stay in Miami and so it might be the reason why the Knicks gave up on their pursuit by acquiring other backcourt players instead of Wade for approximately the same amount of money.
However, two days later he decided to join his hometown squad in Chicago, leaving the Heat after 13 years of loyal service.
"What if" questions then filled the air in the Big Apple and that included its nine-time All-Star Anthony.
"There was a chance," said Anthony after the US men's basketball team's practice on Wednesday, as per the New York Daily News. "There was definitely a chance. We would have had to pull a rabbit out of the hat in the 25th hour. But there was a chance. I think if it was maybe two days earlier we probably would have had D-Wade."
The report also said that it was the second time in as many seasons that Wade "considered joining his good friend Anthony in New York", but the Knicks could not make it happen again.
Meanwhile, Fox Sports noted that "even if the Knicks had avoided signing Jennings, they probably wouldn't have had the space to sign Wade to the kind of deal he wanted to leave the Heat", but they could have waived some of their expendable players if the team really wants to do so.
The Knicks would have known that Wade is really serious about leaving the Heat even before they signed Lee, which would have completely received Wade's preferred salary.