The Chicago Bulls have been eyeing Carmelo Anthony for quite some time now and the reason is obvious - the Knicks all-star swingman can give them what they have been missing for so long now, besides a healthy Derick Rose, and that is a proven scorer who can create his own shot when needed and a player who can deliver big-time in critical moments of the game.
Last season, Carmelo Anthony averaged 27.4 points and 8.1 rebounds and was voted an all-star for the 7th time in his career. The Chicago Bulls meanwhile, managed to reach the playoffs even without Derrick Rose due to their amazing resiliency and umatched work ethic. If Carmelo decides to sign with Chicago and Derrick Rose remains healthy for the remainder of his career, the sky is the limit for the Bulls.
The Bulls have been exploring every possible angle to bring Carmelo to the franchise. After the news broke on Sunday that Melo would opt out the final year of his contract with the New York Knicks and test free agency waters, the window is now open for the Bulls to add the all-star forward with their own pair of stars in Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah.
Its cearly a very reaslitic scenario - Anthony joining the Bulls - as Melo has always expressed openly in the past about his intererest with the Bulls. He admires the team's intensity and competetive spirit and its not hard for him to picture out that he might just be the missing piece of a team that has not won an NBA title since the Jordan era. And Thibodaeu wants Melo more thany any other coach in this league. A former coach of Anthony revealed that he, along with a few other former coaches, have been contacted by Tom Thibodaeu numerous times.
''I even told Tom that there may be days he will want to blow his own head off when it comes to Melo's defense, but he keeps saying he knows he can make it work,'' the coach said. ''It's not that Carmelo can't play defense, it's just how often. And he knows every trick in the book on getting around that.''
With each passing day, it becomes more and more convincing that Carmelo Anthony will sign with the Bulls this summer. Reports involving Anthony's research in Chicago and vice versa is a clear sign that their is a strong mutual interrest in both parties. Now if Chicago can make an attractive deal to Melo - which they are expected to do - and Melo becomes convinced that his future rests with the Bulls, then we may being seeing Carmelo Anthony in a Chicago Bulls jersey next season.
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