NBA Rumors: Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers & Los Angeles Lakers after New York Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony

Although New York Knicks star forward Carmelo Anthony and Knicks’ team President Phil Jackson were spotted meeting for dinner for over two hours on Tuesday night, Anthony is still expected  to opt out of the final year of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

Anthony is smart to opt out of the deal even if he wants to remain in New York because he can get a fifth-year and make about $33 million more in the process. Jackson, however, is hoping he takes a pay cut.

“Because the way things have been structured now financially for teams is that it’s really hard to have one or two top stars or max players, and to put together a team with enough talent, you’ve got to have people making sacrifices financially,” Jackson explained via Ian Begley of ESPN New York.

“So we hope that Carmelo is true to his word, and we understand what it’s going to take, and we will present that to him at that time.”

If Anthony does indeed intend on taking less money, he may wise to go to a better situation and according to Begley, the Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers are all going to make a run at Anthony.

This season, Anthony averaged 27.1 points, 8.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game