The Knicks have made some risky acquisitions this offseason and for their sake they better work out, in light of the growing buzz about the Lakers' plans to pursue Carmelo Anthony if they aren't able to land LeBron James in the 2014 free agency market.

Now that the Lakers have lost Dwight Howard to the Houston Rockets, they will actively be looking for another marquee name to replace him. For now, they're constricted in doing so because there aren't any franchise-changing players currently on the market and the Lakers don't have the salary cap room or trade pieces to land another superstar. At the end of next season, however, when LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, amongst others, become free agents, Los Angeles with do everything in their power to land the highly coveted stars.

The Lakers' preference will obviously be James, but with the Miami forward coming off back-to-back championships and potentially adding a third next season, he may be reluctant to leave South Beach. If it's not broke, why fix it?

Anthony on the other hand, will probably still be searching for his first championship at the end of next season, unless the current Knicks roster performs better than most people expect or they land another star player through a trade. Both scenarios are unlikely. What's more realistic is that Anthony will be coming off his 12th season without a championship ring and looking for the next opportunity to win one. The Lakers will make the case that Los Angeles is right where he needs to be, to make than happen.

Naysayers may point to Anthony's love affair with his ostensible hometown of New York City (he left Brooklyn for Baltimore when he was an eight-year-old), pointing to his stint with the state's Syracuse University and the 29-year-old's orchestration of his trade from the Denver Nuggets to the New York Knicks.

But there's a perfect storm of factors that can potentially upend Anthony's loyalty to New York. He's more of a big city guy than a New York guy, that's not to say that he doesn't have an allegiance to the city, more so that Los Angeles is difficult not to like. Anthony will also grow desperate as a 30-year-old in his 13th season, knowing that he'll only have a few more years to play at his highest level.

Lastly, the Lakers have a track record for success that the Knicks simply don't, and his buddy Kobe Bryant will undoubtedly use their friendship as an advantage in negotiations. Not to mention, Anthony's wife, La La, spends most of her time in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. All that being said, it will be difficult for the Knicks' forward to turn down the allure or La- La land, especially if New York has a mediocre 2013-2014 season.

Tags
Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant