As NBA free agency nears all eyes are on Carmelo Anthony. The Knicks are desperately trying to hold onto their superstar but his wanting to win now has him considering other options. There’s reportedly two teams in the lead to land his services.
via Yahoo Sports:
New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony is leaning toward leaving in pursuit of immediate championship contention, and awaits the Chicago Bulls and Houston Rockets to clear the necessary salary-cap space to sign him in free agency, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
As re-signing with the Knicks continues to fade as his priority, Chicago and Houston have emerged as the clear frontrunners to acquire Anthony, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Anthony’s meeting with Knicks officials on Friday night had little impact on his state of mind, league sources said, because there remain too many uncertainties about how quickly president Phil Jackson can reshape the team into a championship contender.
Chicago and Houston front-office executives are working diligently on contingencies to clear the space to sign Anthony outright – or engage sign-and-trade scenarios with New York, sources said.
The Knicks really can’t do anything roster wise until 2015 when they’ll have a draft pick and Amare Stoudemire and Andrea Bargnani’s contracts come off the books. Though Carmelo wants to stay in New York his desire to win now may very well over power that.
