Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks haven't seen the results that they were hoping for, and now with rumors of the upcoming NBA free agency next summer, questions arise on whether or not Anthony is preparing to jump ship before it sinks any further.
Rumors of Anthony possibly joining the Los Angeles Lakers have been the talk of the summer as it comes down between him and Miami Heat's LeBron James as being the two most polarizing players of next summer's free agency class.
The Lakers are due to have a lot of money coming of the books next summer, thus giving them a lot of flexibility and cap space left at their disposal. James is considered a stretch being that he and his Heat are working on a three-peat next season, but Anthony seems to appear a more attractive option each day.
Recently Vanessa Bryant and La La Anthony had dinner together in West Los Angeles, which only fueled rumors that Anthony could be heading towards Hollywood.
Although this might just be a casual dinner outing between friends, you can't help but to thing that this could potentially help the Lakers land Anthony after this season. If Vanessa were to find a way to convince La La that the Lakers and Los Angeles would be the best landing destination for Anthony and his family, the Lakers could potentially have a shot at getting Carmelo to skip town out of New York.
It's a bit of a long shot, however, a friendship between the wives could benefit the Lakers' pitch.
Although the Knicks can offer Anthony the most money, he still has the option to opt out of his current contract to become a free agent on July 1 during the 2014 free agency campaign.
Anthony has since downplayed the rumors but has also admitted that his "window is closing" and that he's "trying to bring a championship to New York ASAP."
"As far as ruling anything out, I haven't even, to be honest with you, thought about anything past today," Anthony said. "My mind is not even thinking about next season, next offseason right now. I'm just trying to do what I do this offseason to get right, work out, train and get right and prepare myself for this season. When that time comes, I'll deal with that."
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.
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