id. Anthony can opt out of the final year of his contract, which

GREENBURGH, N. DeAndre Hopkins Texans Jersey .Y. -- Phil Jackson lost out on his preferred coach, but hes working hard on keeping his star player. The New York Knicks president said Friday he has talked to Carmelo Anthony about postponing free agency, and the All-Star forward responded that hell think about it. "I told him it might be a good idea to hang in here and see what its like for a year, and go out the next year," Jackson said. Anthony can opt out of the final year of his contract, which would pay him $23.3 million, and has repeatedly said that was his plan. But Jackson said there are financial benefits to Anthony waiting, for both sides, and told him that during a dinner about a month ago. "He opened the door and I stuck my foot in it and said this is what we can do," Jackson said to the teams beat writers. Jackson also told Anthony that Steve Kerr would be coming in to coach, a plan that didnt work out. Kerr was his first and only known candidate to replace Mike Woodson, and Jackson said Kerr had essentially committed to leave the TNT broadcast booth to take the job. But then the Golden State job opened up when the Warriors fired Mark Jackson, and Kerr preferred that one to remain close to his family in California. "Unfortunately for him, he committed to me the day before the job opened with Golden State. So I had to kind of release him to actually go to this job and say you have to do whats right for yourself," Jackson said. "I understood entirely the process he was going through to have that job open up. That was something he kind of thought would be a good fit for him. So thats good, were happy for him." Jackson said hes been doing some interviews, though wouldnt name those candidates. Hes interested in talking to Derek Fisher, who played for him in Los Angeles, after Oklahoma Citys season is finished, but ruled out Brian Shaw, his former player and assistant who just completed his first season as Denvers first coach. The Nuggets have said they are happy with Shaw -- and Jackson doesnt want to give them any compensation even if they would consider letting him leave. "Brian is under contract with Denver," Jackson said. "Denver has everything that we owned for the last few years, so theres nothing else I want to give them." He was referring to the exorbitant price the Knicks paid to acquire Anthony from the Nuggets in 2011. It is still costing them even now, as Denver owns the Knicks first-round pick next month in Jacksons first draft in charge. The deal would hurt even more if Anthony left this summer. But perhaps Jackson, who is a little more than two months into his job, wont have to worry about it after giving Anthony something to think about that he previously wasnt considering. "Im not losing sleep over it, but Im definitely concerned about the idea of a guy going into free agency," Jackson said. "It only takes one bidder out there that has the ability and can ruin your hopes and your chances. "We will survive it. Thats what Ive said and well go forward. But this is a guy we recognize his talent and his skill is the kind of skill and talent that gets you through playoff games where things get sticky, grind out and basketball becomes a force game and suddenly you need to have a player who has the capabilities of scoring with someone hanging on them in a situation thats critical. "Hes one of those players, one of the few players who can do that." Garrett Graham Jersey . The Olympic hockey rookies will face top-seeded and 2006 Olympic champion Sweden on Wednesday in the quarterfinals. Kopitar, who plays for the Los Angeles Kings, is the only NHL player on the Slovenia squad. His father, Matjaz, is the national teams coach. Jadeveon Clowney Jersey . But in the aftermath a 115-91 pounding of the Utah Jazz on Saturday night, Toronto Raptors head coach Dwane Casey insisted it was still invaluable for evaluating the depth of his team early in the season.The Amateur International Boxing Federation (AIBF) will take steps toward ruling on womens Olympic boxing uniforms this week. In a week-long series of meetings that began in Thailand on Wednesday, the AIBF Technical and Rules Commission is expected to make recommendations on whether or not Olympic athletes should be required to wear skirts in the ring. According to Inside the Games, a respected Olympic digital newsletter, the AIBF Executive Committee is expected to listen to these recommendations, but will not make a final ruling until July. The AIBF found itself under fire after a 2011 suggestion that womens boxers should wear skirts to help differentiate themselves from male competitors. Television viewers have complained that they are unable to tell the difference between mens and womens boxing because of the athletes bulky headgear, argued AIBFs president, Dr. Ching-Kuo Wu, argued last fall. As of Wednesday afternoon, a change.org petition led by Elizabeth Plank, a Canadian amateur boxer based in London, had gathered more than 50,000 digiital signatures asking the AIBF to reconsider its ruling. Kendrick Lewis Texans Jersey. . "The idea that female boxers should  be made to wear skirts reduces these skilled athletes to sex objects," argues Plank in the petition. "It undermines the the respect they have long fought for." Some boxers, however, are at least open to having the option to wear skirts in the ring. In a December interview, top Canadian boxer Mary Spencer told CTV she fought in her first skirt at a World Championship competition in 2010. She even found it to be a more comfortable alternative to shorts. "I put it on and I was like, this is amazing," Spencer said. "This is so practical, its comfortable, I can move better. "A lot of people who arent in the sport dont realize how practical it is, so they make a big deal out of it. But its not like playing basketball in a skirt. Any given night you can put on (mens boxing program) Friday Night Fights and youll see some men who are wearing a skirt because theyre so practical." cheap jerseys ' ' '