Carmelo Anthony to test free agency

Carmelo Anthony

The summer of the 2014 NBA free agency has already began to sizzle. Six-time all-star forward Carmelo Anthony (203 cm, Syracuse’03) will be opting out of the final year of his contract with the New York Knicks and will be testing free agency market.

According to ESPN:

Carmelo Anthony has informed the New York Knicks in writing that he will opt out of the final year of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent, according to multiple sources.

Anthony is the first big-named player to make himself available. Miami’s “Big Three” of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh also have the options to forego the last year of their contracts with the Heat and become unrestricted free agents as well.

Carmelo has long desired to play for a serious title contender. He feels that this move is places him in the best position to make a run at a most coveted NBA Championship. The former NBA scoring champion (2012-13) will likely be drawing top dollar from teams that want his services. Anything less than a maximum allowable deal will probably not tickle his fancy, especially considering that Melo is leaving $23,333,405 on the table. For his career, Anthony has averaged 25.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg and 3.1 apg.

There are a few teams that are considered to be in the lead as far as landing Anthony this off-season is concerned. They are the Chicago Bulls, the Houston Rockets, possibly the Dallas Mavericks and it is not entirely out of the question that he inks a new deal with the Knicks. The Bulls have the flexibility on their books to accommodate Anthony’s hefty contract and even have some of the pieces available to do a sign-and-trade transaction with the Knicks. A not-so-small item of note involving the Bulls’ possible move is that news has surfaced that their star point guard, Derrick Rose, reportedly “prefers” that his team acquire Minnesota’s Kevin Love instead of Anthony. The Houston Rockets are in the mix as they are looking for a third star to form their own “Big Three.” As of now they have versatile, scoring guard James Harden and athletic big man Dwight Howard as their main weapons. They are already a competitive team, but landing a player of Anthony’s caliber could be just what might take them over the top.

This will be the first time in his 11-year NBA career that Melo will become a free agent. He spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Denver Nuggets, which selected him third overall in the 2003 NBA Draft. He was then traded to the New York Knicks (sign and trade) in February 2011.

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