NBA superstar and unrestricted free agent Carmelo Anthony has decided to return to the New York Knicks on a five-year, $120+ million contract, according to multiple reports. Frank Isola of the New York Daily News first reported the signing on a Wednesday:
Carmelo told a friend within hour “I believe in Phil.” Thursday is decision day & it looks like Melo’s coming home http://t.co/Z2BiBcxUmf
— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) July 9, 2014
Carmelo told me he’d announce it Thursday. Maybe he just wanted to upstage today’s third place game at the World Cup
— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) July 12, 2014
Adrian Wojnarowski confirmed the news today:
Just a matter of hours until Carmelo Anthony informs the Knicks of his return on a five-year deal, as @FisolaNYDN reported this week.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 12, 2014
Yahoo Sources: Carmelo Anthony finalizing 5-year, $120M-plus deal with the New York Knicks. http://t.co/Abwsmz2phz
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 12, 2014
The much-anticipated decision ends weeks of rumors and speculation regarding his future.
Anthony’s free agency has been one of the biggest storylines in the NBA this offseason, and several teams have spent the past two weeks making their pitches to the 30-year-old small forward. In addition to the Knicks, Anthony had also visited with the Los Angeles Lakers, the Chicago Bulls, the Houston Rockets, and the Dallas Mavericks. His decision reportedly ultimately came down to the Lakers, Bulls and Knicks.
Although the Lakers four-year, $97 million offer was the most they could give him under the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement, Anthony will still make a considerable amount more money (about $25-32 million over the course of the deal) by signing with the Knicks, who were able to offer him more under the Larry Bird exception.
Despite his well-documented playoff troubles, Carmelo Anthony has undeniably been among the league’s stars since the Denver Nuggets took him with the third overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. Throughout his entire 11-year NBA career, Anthony has appeared in 790 total games, averaging 25.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 3.1 assists while playing 36.5 minutes per game.
After spending his first seven seasons with the Nuggets, Anthony refused to sign a contract extension with the team and requested a trade shortly before the 2010-2011 NBA season. On February 22, 2011, his request was fulfilled and he was sent to the Knicks in a multi-player, three-team blockbuster trade that also involved the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Anthony’s tenure in New York, however, hasn’t panned out exactly as he expected it to, as the team has yet to advance past the Eastern Conference Semifinals, and even missed the playoffs last season after posting a 37-45 regular record in the same conference that saw the 38-44 Atlanta Hawks qualify for the postseason.
With his new deal and the guidance of recently appointed team president Phil Jackson, Anthony will look to help reverse the Knicks’ bad fortune, win his first ring, and bring the Larry O’Brien trophy back to New York for the first time since 1973.
Anthony averaged 27.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game last year. He informed the Knicks of his intentions to opt out of the final year of his last contract and become an free agent on June 23.
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