Carmelo Anthony can opt out of his current contract with the New York Knicks at the end of the season, and many people have speculated that he will leave for another team. Not only have ‘Melo and his wife said that he isn’t going anywhere, but ‘Melo now says that he would even go so far as to take a pay cut to help the team sign other free agents.
“Without a doubt,” Anthony said Friday when asked if he would take less to give the Knicks more financial flexibility. “Any opportunity I have to build that up in New York, I’d do it. I told people all the time, always say, ‘If it takes me taking a pay cut, I’ll be the first one on [Knicks owner] Mr. [James] Dolan’s steps saying take my money and let’s build something strong over here.'”
Anthony also reiterated that he would not leave the Knicks.
“I’ve never been a guy that comes into a situation, when it’s not going well, to leave,” Anthony said. “That’s not my personality.”
That’s a great attitude from ‘Melo, and it’s cool that he’s acting like an unselfish leader of the team. The problem is that the Knicks have many financial problems and him taking a pay cut wouldn’t even really help. They still owe Amare Stoudemire $23.4 million, Andrea Bargnani $11.5 million and Tyson Chandler $14.6 million. They’re a mess.
If ‘Melo sticks to his word — and it certainly seems like he will — he’ll probably end up rotting away in New York the rest of his career, to the disappointment of his college coach Jim Boeheim.
