Carmelo Anthony has not given a definite answer on whether he will opt out of his current contract with the New York Knicks, but we would all be shocked if he didn’t. Even if he decided to remain in New York, opting out would allow Anthony to sign a new deal with more years and more money. Who wouldn’t want that?
According to Marc Berman of the New York Post, Carmelo met with his agent, advisor and some other members of his entourage on Friday night to discuss his future as a free agent. Some would say the Knicks have an advantage in talks with Carmelo, as they can offer five years and around $130 million while other teams can offer a four-year, $96 million deal. But will New York make a max offer?
Phil Jackson indicated earlier this offseason that the team will need Anthony to take less than he is entitled to in order to give the Knicks flexibility to add other pieces. Carmelo also said he would take a pay cut to help New York sign other free agents, but that was before Jackson missed out on his top coaching target in Steve Kerr. Anthony might be worried about Jackson’s ability to recruit top free agents if he couldn’t even get his protege on board.
As Berman noted, the Knicks may still have the advantage on Anthony by default. The Houston Rockets — one potential destination for Carmelo — would need to move both Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik to make room for ‘Melo. The Chicago Bulls would have to get rid of Mike Dunleavy, Carlos Boozer and Taj Gibson. That type of roster maneuvering would be extremely difficult.
I’m sure part of Carmelo wants to finish what he started in New York and prove he can bring a championship to his hometown. The other part of him just wants to win a championship in general. Does he trust that Jackson will be able to bring in the right head coach and fill out the roster with championship-caliber players? We’ll find out soon enough.
H/T SI Wire
