NEW ORLEANS -- Carmelo Anthony said Friday he knows "for a fact" the Knicks wont trade him, and said he would be open to staying in New York for less than a maximum contract. Wholesale Jazz Jerseys . Anthony has said he plans to become a free agent this summer. The NBAs trade deadline is Thursday, but Anthony ruled out any chance the Knicks would move him to avoid the possibility they could lose him for nothing in July. "I know for a fact Im not being traded," Anthony said at the NBAs All-Star weekend. "Theres two things: I know for a fact Im not being traded and Im not going in there and saying I want to be traded." New York can pay him around $30 million more than any team, but Anthony said he wouldnt insist on making the Knicks do it. "As far as the money, it dont really matter to me. If I go somewhere else I get paid, if I stay in New York I get paid," Anthony said. "So as far as the money goes, thats not my concern. My concern is being able to compete on a high level, at a championship level coming at this last stretch of my career." The Knicks arent doing it now. They are 20-32, one of the leagues biggest disappointments after winning the Atlantic Division last season, and are wasting a strong season by Anthony that has him ranked second in the league with 27.3 points per game while also averaging 8.6 rebounds. The Knicks need plenty more, and it will be tough to get because they are already so far over the salary cap. Not having to pay Anthony all of the more than $120 million he would be eligible for could help. "I talk to people all the time. I always say if it takes me taking a pay cut, Ill be the first one on Mr. Dolans step saying, Take my money, lets build something stronger," Anthony said, referring to Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan. Anthony was traded to New York just after the All-Star game three years ago and has reached the playoffs in each season. But they are currently out of the playoff picture even in the weak Eastern Conference, and Anthony will have to decide if he feels they can put a championship team around him as he approaches his 30th birthday. "He makes really good decisions and I feel this decision for him will be no different," said the Clippers Chris Paul, one of Anthonys closest friends in the league. "I know he loves it there. His family loves it there. Most of all, he loves to play basketball there. I dont know what his decision will be, but whatever he does, Ill support him 110 per cent." Rickey Green Jersey . "Back in 2011, when they announced that the game was coming here, we knew that it was going to be pretty important that we had a good year and hopefully could get into it, let alone win it, so I felt some pressure obviously within for sure," Taman said Monday, less than 24 hours after the Riders won the championship. Pete Maravich Jersey . Every once in awhile, it seems like life lets dreams become real - and that is a gift. https://www.cheapjazzonline.com/568e-bryon-russell-jersey-jazz.html . On the eve of the 2013-14 NBA season, he can finally take a step back and allow his team to do the talking. AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Bubba Watson likes the way he looks in green. He wants to get that colour back in his wardrobe. Watson surged to the Masters lead with a spree of birdies on the back side Friday, positioning him for a weekend run at his second green jacket in three years. "Im trying to get the jacket back," Watson said. "I want that feeling again." The 2012 champion at Augusta National sparked the best run of the tournament so far when he stuck his tee shot at No. 12 within 3 feet of the cup. He tapped in for the first of five straight birdies that propelled him to a 4-under 68. Even after making his second bogey of the tournament by missing a short putt at the 18th, Watson walked off with his second straight round in the 60s, a 7-under 137 total and a three-stroke lead -- the biggest 36-hole advantage at Augusta since 2006. "Its not science here," Watson said. "Its try to hit the greens, and if youre hitting the greens that means youre obviously hitting your tee shots well. So thats all Im trying to do, just hit the greens." Look whos in the mix again, too: 54-year-old Fred Couples, who posted his second straight 71. This is the fifth straight year the 1992 winner has gone to the weekend in the top 10 -- he was leading two years ago -- but hes never been able to hang on. "I cant panic," said Couples, looking to become the oldest major champion in golf history. "Youre not going to pick up two or three shots here because you want to. Its not that kind of course. Youve got to hang in there, expect a tough shot here and there. Its going to be a tough day tomorrow." And dont count out defending champion Adam Scott, who got off to a rough start but rallied for 72. The Aussie was among those four shots back, still solidly in contention to become only the fourth back-to-back winner in Masters history. Watson opened Thursday with a 69 and went bogey-free through the first 26 holes, finally stumbling at the ninth. But that bogey was quickly forgotten when he put on a dazzling display of the golf that had the patrons roaring. He took advantage of both par 5s, sandwiched around a curling, 40-foot birdie putt at the 14th that prompted him to throw both arms in the air. Watson made it five in a row at the par-3 16th, pulling off another magnificent tee shot with the 9-iron, the ball rolling up about 4 feet short of the flag. He became only the fifth player in Masters history to run off nothing but birdies from the 12th to 16th holles. Emmanuel Mudiay Jersey. A year ago, the left-hander finished in a tie for 50th last year as the defending Masters champion, his worst showing in five previous appearances. He likes being two years removed from his title a whole lot better. "I was in awe when I was the champion," Watson said. "I didnt know how to handle it the best way, so I didnt play my best golf." Watsons closest pursuer was Australias John Senden, who birdied 14 and 15 on his way to a 68 and 140 overall. Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., shot an even-par second round, but his disappointing first round of 8 over will see him cut from the final weekend. The project cut is 4 over. Former Masters champion Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., will almost assuredly move on after a round of even par. He followed four birdies on the front nine with four bogeys on the back to sit at 1 over after two rounds. Scott bogeyed three of the first five holes but wound up at 141. He was joined by Denmarks Thomas Bjorn, who birdied four of the last five holes for a 68; Swedens Jonas Blixt, who managed 71 despite a double-bogey at the 11th; and 20-year-old Jordan Spieth, hardly looking like an Augusta rookie when he closed out 70 with a birdie at the tough finishing hole. Five shots back with Couples were Jimmy Walker, a three-time PGA Tour winner this season who shot 72, and Jim Furyk, whose 68 matched Watson, Senden and Bjorn for the best round of the day. First-round leader Bill Haas, teeing off on a warm, sunny afternoon with the wind picking up and the greens getting firmer, was still at 4 under approaching the turn. Then came a miserable stretch of holes starting at No. 9: bogey, bogey, double-bogey, bogey, bogey. He staggered to a 78 -- 10 shots higher than the day before, knocking him nine shots back. At least Haas gets to keep playing. Three-time winner Phil Mickelson missed the Augusta cut for the first time since 1997. Lefty had a triple-bogey at the 12th, where he knocked three straight shots in bunkers for his second triple of the tournament. Three birdies on the back side gave him a glimmer of hope, but 73 totalled up to 149 -- one shot too many. "Its tough to overcome those big numbers," said Mickelson, who had plenty of big-name company beyond the cut line. Sergio Garcia, Luke Donald, Ernie Els, Graeme McDowell, Dustin Johnson, Angel Cabrera and Charl Schwartzel were all headed home as well before the weekend. ' ' '