From Chris Sheridan at ESPN.com:

The New York Knicks have made significant progress in recent days in their efforts to acquire Carmelo Anthony from the Denver Nuggets, a source told ESPN.com Tuesday.

…

The offers the Knicks have proposed have always centered around packages including Anthony Randolph, the expiring contract of Eddy Curry and a first-round draft pick they would acquire from a third team, and New York has softened its stance on including forward Danilo Gallinari in a trade.

The most recent obstacle, according to the source, was for the Knicks to use one of those assets, likely Randolph or Gallinari, to acquire a player from a third team that the Nuggets value more highly than either of the Knicks forwards. The source said that obstacle can now be overcome, with the Knicks confident they can get their hands on a player the Nuggets would prefer.

…

The Knicks would have to part with an additional asset or two to acquire a first-round draft pick to include in any deal with the Nuggets, and one New York player who has increased his value in recent days is backup point guard Toney Douglas, who had 24 points Tuesday against New Jersey after scoring 23 two nights earlier against Washington.

Gallinari and Randolph have both struggled in the preseason. Gallinari followed up his 0-for-7 performance against the Wizards with a 3-for-7 night against the Nets, while Randolph, averaging 11.0 points and 3.8 rebounds in six preseason games, scored 13 points but did not grab a single rebound. Curry, whose $11.3 million salary comes off the cap at the end of this season, has been sidelined for all six exhibition games with a strained right hamstring.

You can read the rest here.

Newsday is also reporting that the Nuggets have softened their stance on trading Melo to NYK, and that the Knicks have continued to have internal discussions about trading for Anthony rather than wait for him to potentially become a free agent.

I’ve been enjoying talking about actual Knicks basketball so much I don’t want to get back into writing posts about rumors all the time, but I can’t just ignore this. That Newsday has some version of the report gives it legs. So here it is.