It looks as if the 2014 Free Agent Class will be stacked this summer, which should come as no surprise as it was always rumored to be like this. Not only are Maimi’s Big 3 potentially leaving, but New York Knicks’ star Forward Carmelo Anthony is said to be interested in leaving New York this summer to test the free agent market. While Carmelo has always loved New York since the time he went to Syracuse University, he also wants to end up in a place where he can win.
Thus, the breaking news of the day is that Carmelo Anthony may not be in a Knicks’ uniform next year. He has decided to opt out of the final year of his Knicks deal, which means he is now able to talk with other teams about moving on.
There has been a lot of speculation on where Carmelo Anthony will go as Melo could help any team he went to instantly. As weird as it sounds, the Nuggets have been rumored to be a landing spot due to their improved roster, but the team with the most to gain may be Miami.
The issue, when it comes to the Heat, is that they still have to sign LeBron James and Dwyane Wade to at least look appealing. While Chris Bosh would be a valued member of the roster, he is not technically needed if Carmelo Anthony is signed.
Carmelo would still run into issues with the Heat as James is not willing to take a pay cut, so it would not help Miami to bring in Melo and keep James and Wade since there would be no money left under the salary cap to build a strong bench.
If the Heat signed all three of the Big 3, they’d still only be able to afford a few more contracts. So Melo coming to Miami is unlikely because the cash would not be there to sign support players to complete the team.
Another landing spot might be Los Angeles. Both the Lakers and Clippers could benefit from Anthony, but the Lakers would benefit the most. Combining him with Kobe Bryant, Nick Young, and Pau Gasol might push the Lakers back in contention. ESPN reported that Chicago is a place that Anthony has been doing a lot of homework on. Dallas has expressed interest and Dirk Nowitzski wants Melo on the team.
Golden State is another potential landing spot. They have attempted to bring in Kevin Love from the Minnesota Timberwolves via trade. The issue is, they’d have to trade Klay Thompson in order to make the deal worth it for the Wolves. Carmelo Anthony could come out of free agency and help the team in Love’s place and the Warriors would not have to trade Klay away. This might push a young team up to contender level.
The West is stacked, however, so a lot of people believe that Carmelo could stick to the East. Where he will end up is uncertain as of now, but a ton of teams have interest and could be moving money around in order to afford him. The problem is that Carmelo is tough to please.
Any team that brings in Carmelo Anthony will, in fact, bring in a star. They will also pay a pretty penny to get the big man. As a result, the team would have to work well within the CBA agreement and still have a line up that is attractive to Melo.
Anthony does not seem to want to go to another building team, but rather a team that is set to win right away with him being a main focus. Who that team is for him is yet to be determined. Carmelo is walking away from $23 million with the Knicks, so clearly he wants to land on a fantastic team that can get him to the NBA Finals.
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