There were times this summer when it seemed likely that Carmelo Anthony would leave the New York Knicks for the Chicago Bulls or Houston Rockets. But Anthony didn’t. He re-signed with New York for five years on a near-maximum contract.
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More good news for the Knicks: Anthony doesn’t ever plan on leaving.
From Fred Kerber of the New York Post:
"“I plan on ending my career here, so it wasn’t for me to go out there and try to strike a two-year deal and then have to go through this situation in two years. I’m not doing that ever again. I would never do that again. I would advise no one to ever do that,” Anthony said. “I experienced it and it’s behind me.”"
Anthony has now been with the Knicks for three-and-a-half seasons. Starting over someplace, even with a contender such as the Bulls, didn’t appeal to him.
"“I just felt if I was to leave, I would have to … build that foundation up once again, and it took me a while to build that foundation and to get it up and going to where it’s at right now,” Anthony said."
Some might argue that Anthony hasn’t done a great job of building a “foundation” with the Knicks. This is a team that won 37 games this past season, a year after winning 55 and heading into the playoffs as the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed.
Regardless, the Knicks have their guy for now and the foreseeable future.
Anthony averaged 27.4 points and 8.1 rebounds per game last season.