Many saw Carmelo Anthony opting out his final year with the Knicks and apparently they were right, as sources close to Anthony's plans have just revealed that the all-star forward will opt out his contract and become a free agent this summer in the 2014 NBA free agency. This will make him one of the most coveted names on the market, so far, with the Chicago Bulls as the front runner among likely candidates. Teams interested with the Knicks star the can begin talks and agree on terms on July 1 but a deal cannot be signed officially until July 10.
Now although the Knicks can provide Anthony with the best deal--a max-contract of five years, $130 million--compared to other teams, no clear signs are pointing that the they will become a championship caliber team this coming season. Sure, the franchise has made some significant changes by bringing in Phil Jackson and Derick Fisher, but they are still stuck with a roster filled with big disappointments in Amare Stoudemire and Andrea Bargnani, to name a few.
Its also not a guarantee that the Knicks will offer Melo a max contract as long as they are still hand cuffed with Stoudemire's $23.4 million dollar contract. The Knicks also don't have plenty of options in the free agency with Stoudemire's huge contract and without any pick in the coming draft and valuable assets to trade, its a safe bet that the Knicks won't be able to make any major upgrades in their roster with or without Carmelo Anthony this coming season.
It's clear that the summer of 2015 is the time when Jackson can make some huge leaps in terms of roster improvement because this is when the contracts of Stoudemire, Andrea Bargnani and Tyson Chandler's expire. But during this time, the Knicks may no longer have Anthony as part of their plans for the future.
Carmelo Anthony is at the peak of his game at 30 years old and still does not have an NBA championship to boast. He did everything he can last season but the Knicks simply lacked the kind of competitive culture and supporting cast that will help Melo reach the top. He is better off playing with Chicago or Houston who already have a solid cast of players that will help him compete in the playoffs and contend for an NBA title in the golden years of his career.
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