The NBA free agency period has been at a standstill with LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony deciding on what to do next and after meeting with the Miami Heat in Las Vegas, James has not yet made up his mind about the Cleveland Cavaliers or staying in Miami, while reports from ESPN have Melo staying in New York with the Knicks, although his agent is denying that he has decided anything.
The Lakers, Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks along with the Knicks all chased Anthony this offseason and now reports have him signing back with the Knicks. According to Pro Basketball Talk, Anthony is announcing on Thursday that he is taking the max money at five years and $129 million from the Knicks. Heading into Wednesday night, no decisions had been made for James or Anthony and reports had Melo waiting on James to see what he would do.
James met for an hour with Pat Riley and the Heat in Las Vegas and reports from Yahoo Sports and ESPN say that he has not made a decision. The Cleveland Cavaliers have been pressing hard to sign back James and they feel like they have a realistic shot to bring him back home to Cleveland. James is looking for max money and Cleveland comes in after getting the number one overall pick in the draft in Andrew Wiggins and they also signed Kyrie Irving to a max contract. The team is looking at Mike Miller and Ray Allen as options if James signs and they could convince him to leave Miami.
The Chicago Bulls had been targeting free agent Carmelo Anthony this summer and the team is apparently was willing to make trades to clear the salary cap space they need to sign the Knicks star, including possible deals involving Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer, Taj Gibson and Jimmy Butler in an attempt to give Derrick Rose a legitimate offensive star. Now that appears to be off the table, as Melo is deciding between the Knicks and the Lakers.
Anthony has opted out of his contract with the Knicks and that was an expected move coming into the final year of his contract and now he hits the market and is one of the top free agents in the league. According to ESPN.com, NY Knicks star is doing his due diligence on each city, as the Lakers are considered to be the favorites to sign if he leaves the Knicks, with the Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat the other teams chasing Anthony.
