The New York Knicks struggled last season both with and without Carmelo Anthony and they will need several things to go right to compete for a playoff spot.

But Anthony says the goal remains to win a championship.

"We're competing," Anthony said after practice on Wednesday. "People might not believe that, but we're definitely competing for that. That's always going to be the goal. Whether we get there or not depends on us and what we're doing. That's always our big-picture goal."

"Rebuilding for us is based on the fact that we don't have a certain caliber of player on our roster, quote unquote, other than Carmelo," Derek Fisher said. "So people assume that we're rebuilding. But was Atlanta rebuilding last year when they didn't have a quote-unquote player on their roster? So it just depends on who your team is.

"We think that our group as we figure some things out, will be more competitive than maybe what people think. But rebuilding doesn't necessarily mean we're not trying to win right now."

Emmanuel Mudiay has denied telling anyone he was happy not to be drafted by the New York Knicks.

“It’s not true, I didn’t say that,” Mudiay said. “But, I think one time someone asked me, ‘How would you like to play in the triangle offense?’ I said ‘I don’t know how I would fit in that system,’ and I think that’s when they ran with it.

“So, I mean, the Knicks took their choice, they took (Kristaps) Porzingis and I wish him the best. But I can care less about the Knicks right now because that’s not who I’m playing for. I’ve just got to focus on who my team is, and that’s the Denver Nuggets.”

Mudiay had an impressive performance in Summer League.

Kristaps Porzingis has been studying film of Usain Bolt in order to improve his running technique.

Porzingis was the New York Knicks' first round pick at No. 4 overall in the 2015 NBA Draft.

DaJuan Summers has agreed to sign with the New York Knicks.

Summers was a second round pick in 2009 out of Georgetown.

Summers last played in the NBA during the 12-13 season with the Los Angeles Clippers. Summers was a participant in the 2014 Summer League with the Brooklyn Nets and played last season in Spain.

Kristaps Porzingis was asked to respond to a comment made by Phil Jackson before the draft comparing him to Shawn Bradley.

"That's what Phil does to get guys to work hard. That fired me up. I'm not Shawn Bradley."

Porzingis also said he was happy to oblige when the New York Knicks asked him to skip EuroBasket.

The New York Knicks have signed forward Darion Atkins and guard/forward Wesley Saunders.

Atkins, 6-8, 241-pounds, averaged 7.6 points and 6.0 rebounds over 23.9 minutes in 33 games as a senior at the University of Virginia and was named the winner of the 2015 Lefty Driesell National and ACC defensive player of the year awards. The Clinton, MD-native led the Portsmouth Invitational in scoring (20.0) and blocks (3.7) and appeared in nine Summer League games for San Antonio’s entries at Orlando and Las Vegas, averaging 2.3 points and 2.3 rebounds over 12.7 minutes.

Saunders, 6-5, 215-pounds, averaged 12.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.5 steals over 29.8 minutes in 120 games over four seasons at Harvard University. The three-time All-Ivy League first-team selection, averaged career-highs of 16.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists as a senior. The Los Angeles, CA-native, appeared in six 2015 Summer League games for the Jazz’ entry at Utah and Las Vegas, averaging 2.8 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists over 15.3 minutes.

The New York Knicks aren't ready to engage in trade talks involving Carmelo Anthony, but Zach Lowe reports "they're getting closer."

When Anthony signed his deal in July of 2014, Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the belief within his camp was it was better to take the money from the Knicks and he could attempt to be traded if they were unable to become contenders.

Lowe followed up on the initial report by agreeing with Chris Herring's statement that the Knicks will discuss trading Anthony if they struggle as they did during the 14-15 season.

Anthony has a no-trade clause and a trade kicker in his deal.

Travis Trice and the New York Knicks have agreed upon a partially guaranteed one-year deal.

Trice went undrafted out of Michigan State in 2015 and gives the Knicks depth at point guard.

Trice played for the Miami Heat in Summer League.