The 2014 free agent class has the potential to be one of the greatest of all time. Of course, Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and Paul George should all stay with theIr teams, so all the hype will be wasted breath. But what about Carmelo Anthony? Since the departure of Dwight Howard, Lakers fans are expecting to hit a homerun with their future cap space. With Melo being linked to the Lakers back when he was traded to the Knicks, and because of his friendship with Kobe Bryant, LA believes they have a shot to acquire his services. Not so fast, Melo spoke to Bloomberg’s “Market Markers” and he had a different take (transcribed by Newsday):
"I’m not going nowhere,” Anthony said…“That is one of the reasons why I wanted to come here to New York, just so I could take on those pressures and those challenges,” Anthony said. “A lot of people do not like to deal with the pressure. A lot of people do not know how to deal with the challenges they face. To me, it is everyday life.”"
It’s nice to actually hear a star come out and say they aren’t leaving, and maybe we can avoid these questions throughout the season. Lebron James is only adding to the speculation by ducking the question, but it seems like Carmelo may have decided for good. This is what he wanted when he turned down Denver’s 64 million dollar extension. On the other hand, if it absolutely blows up this season, and he decides he wants to leave, this will be used against him. He seems to think that Mike Woodson’s crew will be better this season. Just something to keep an eye out for.