LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh might have to discuss plans with Carmelo Anthony
By Mike Dyce
It is official, New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony is opting out and heading towards free agency. Like Dwight Howard, Deron Williams, and LeBron James before him, Anthony will enjoy being coveted and pursued by every team with a means to sign him.
Teams can’t talk to Anthony until July 1st however, leaving any discussions that would take place up to the players recruiting one another. So if Miami is serious about adding Anthony to LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, it is up to the Heat’s “Big Three” to get that ball rolling.
As Ira Winderman notes, LeBron, Wade and Bosh might have other reasons to discuss with Anthony because they’d need to decide to do with their own contracts ahead of the June 30th deadline. If Anthony wants to join them in South beach, they’d need to opt out to help create cap space.
What if Melo is non-committal? Do the players still opt out just in case? Could them opting out to create space for Anthony open the door for them to join another team?
With Carmelo opting out, Heat can't have contact until July 1 (but LeBron, Wade, Bosh can, since league never has gotten in way of that).
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) June 22, 2014
To a degree, LeBron, Wade, Bosh have to, since it would impact how they would approach their June 30 opt-outs (consider it pre-recruiting).
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) June 22, 2014