The Los Angeles Lakers are set to meet with prized free agent Carmelo Anthony on Thursday but the race seems to be down tot he Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets and New York Knicks.
It’s not clear if the Rockets and Melo talked contract this week when they met but there are starting to be indications that some numbers kicked around in terms of what the Chicago Bulls may or may not have offered Melo while he was at the United Center on Wednesday.
Marc Berman from the New York Post reports that the offer Chicago may be preparing for Melo would be worth $16 million per season over the next four years, amounting in a $64 million total contract.
With the Melopalooza set to hit Los Angeles on Friday, the Bulls’ position appears to be weakening. According to an NBA source, the Bulls, during Tuesday’s meetings, floated the idea of Anthony making about $16 million per year across four seasons — a sum that is not going to move the needle away from Anthony’s pre-trip gut feeling to stick with the Knicks.
New York is the only team that can offer Melo a fifth year on a max deal, but the Bulls will want to structure a deal with Melo that allows for the roster to be filled out underneath him. They have money tied up in Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah but both of those contracts are entering the latter stages of their validity and they may find it hard to get money down the road.
Still, $16 million per season is not a bad figure but will it be enough to convince Melo that he needs to play in Chicago over places like Houston and New York who may offer more?
