It sounds like Carmelo Anthony won't get shoulder surgery.

Over a month ago, word came out that the Knicks would give Carmelo Anthony's partially torn labrum in his left shoulder three to four weeks to heal, at which point they'd determine whether or not it required surgery. We haven't heard a "yes/no, Melo's shoulder does/doesn't need surgery" from the Knicks and probably never will, but we do have this from Melo's court unveiling Thursday in Red Hook, via Marc Berman:

“Much better,’’ Anthony said after the Red Hook ceremony. “The shoulder feels much better. I had four, five weeks to let it rest and heal up. It’s not 100 percent yet, but it’s much better.’’

Asked if it’s still possible of surgery down the road, Anthony said: “No, I don’t think no surgery is needed.’’

Knicks general manager Glen Grunwald seconded Anthony’s remarks, saying: “We got good reports from our doctors today.”

Asked if there was a chance Anthony could re-injure the shoulder, Grunwald said, “Hopefully it’s a non-issue going forward, but there are no guarantees.”

Surgery would put Melo out until around training camp (it'd also have to wait, since he's about to head to China), which would not be a real good time. Melo aggravating a shoulder injury that should have been repaired would also not be a real good time.

Right down the middle-- Melo's shoulder healing all the way on its own so that we never have to use the word "labrum" ever again-- would be a real good time. Let's do that one.