Carmelo Anthony, prominent member of the Knicks, is recruiting Kevin Durant

Over the millennia many philosophers have debated this riddle: "If Carmelo Anthony is part of the Knicks, and woos Kevin Durant, doesn't that mean the Knicks woo Kevin Durant?"

Fortunately, Melo answered the question for us on Monday afternoon:

‎"I'm with KD now; he's right downstairs," Anthony told ESPN in an interview that will air later Monday on SportsCenter. "We've been together. We've been talking.

"I do consider myself part of the Knicks," Anthony continued, "so that meeting has already taken place."

The Team USA comrades are in New York at the moment on a pre-Olympics press tour, and Melo is pitching the Knicks to Durant while respecting his right to make his own decision -- "giving him the real," as Melo puts it.

And Durant has at least paid New York a compliment before equivocating with the standard "I gotta wait and see what my teams says" excuse:

Kevin Durant: "Obviously they have a good team now with D-Rose & Melo & Porzingis so I will talk to my team and we will figure things out."

— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) June 27, 2016

Whatever. Melo did his part and pitched his team to a friend with many, many better suitors. Durant did bestow Kristaps Porzingis with the "Unicorn" moniker, though, so he at least recognizes the skills.

Melo was also asked about new teammate Derrick Rose, and was unsurprisingly quick with praise.

Carmelo Anthony on the Derrick Rose trade: "I like that a lot."

— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) June 27, 2016

Carmelo Anthony agreed with Phil Jackson's assessment that Anthony has been 're-invigorated' by the Derrick Rose trade.

— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) June 27, 2016

Melo: "I feel a little more confident" about direction Knicks are taking. Rose move shows me they "aren't looking at the future just yet."

— Chris Herring (@HerringWSJ) June 27, 2016

They sure aren't, Melo! The soon-to-be four-time Olympian also had a fascinating perspective on how he can improve his overall basketball legacy through Team USA:

This was an interesting quote from Melo. Seemingly a big part of the reason he considers Olympics so important. pic.twitter.com/hc4A3ToGAX

— Chris Herring (@HerringWSJ) June 27, 2016

I'm glad he is trying to stay positive. Keep on recruiting, Melo, and maybe one day we'll see meaningful basketball at MSG once again.