New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony is prepared for "a huge season" up ahead, but says he's not prepared to think about his long-term future with the Knicks quite yet.
"I can't do that," Anthony said. "It's too tough right now."
However, Knicks GM Glen Grunwald said keeping him was a top priority. Grunwald spoke on the rumors and said that the Knicks plan to have a "long-term, successful partnership" with Anthony.
"It's really premature for me to talk about [Anthony's opt-out]. We obviously love Melo, we think he's great for New York and New York is great for him," Grunwald said on a conference call.
"We see it being a long-term, successful partnership with him as we go forward. But right now, it's just too early to say anything other than we're looking forward to this coming season and we expect to have a good year."
If Anthony opts out of N.Y. he would lose a significant amount of money. If he inks another deal with another team, he can sign a four-year contract worth $95,897,372, according to calculations by ESPN salary-cap expert Larry Coon. If Anthony opts out and re-signs with the Knicks, he can sign a five-year contract worth $129,135,806. That's a difference of $33,238,434.
Although Anthony isn't ready to discuss his future, he has been very pleased thus far with the Knicks offseason moves.
New York dealt Steve Novak, Marcus Camby and two draft picks -- including a first-rounder in 2016 -- to acquire the much-maligned Bargnani, the No. 1 draft pick in 2006. The Knicks also signed Metta World Peace to a two-year deal after he was amnestied by the Los Angeles Lakers, inked J.R. Smith to a three-year contract worth about $6 million per season and brought Pablo Prigioni and Kenyon Martin back.
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