The summer saga of Carmelo Anthony’s free agency has long been over, with Anthony ultimately deciding to re-sign with the New York Knicks rather than join Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and the Chicago Bulls. After signing a five-year, $124 million deal, Anthony said he didn’t base his decision on the money–even though he made about $50 million more than the max the Bulls could have offered.
According to the Wall Street Journal’s Chris Herring, Anthony turned down a two-year deal from the Bulls.
CHI had reportedly floated the idea of a short-term 2-yr deal for Melo so he could re-sign for max in 2016. He says that wasnt appealing.
— Chris Herring (@Herring_NBA) September 4, 2014
Melo says idea of a two-year deal, like what LeBron just agreed to, wasn't intriguing to him. Didn't want high-stress situation of FA again
— Chris Herring (@Herring_NBA) September 4, 2014
Of course, LeBron James signed a two-year deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers in order to become a free agent again when the NBA reaches and new television contract that is sure to boost the maximum player salary. James has already stated he fully intends on remaining in Cleveland and will re-sign for a more valuable maximum contract.
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There is something endearing to Anthony not wanting to deal with the stress of being a free agent again, and then you think about the fact that he is deciding between millions of dollars and millions of dollars and that endearing quality vanishes like Jennifer Lawrence nudes on the internet.
In a sense, though, Anthony isn’t choosing money, at least in the long term. Meanwhile, James has carefully planned the next few years on his situation to make sure he gets as much money as possible. Still, Anthony isn’t choosing winning either since he turned down an opportunity to play with a much better Bulls team.
So what, exactly, is Anthony choosing if he isn’t making as much money as possible or getting on the best team he can play for? Well, I guess it’s all about New York. After all, it’s what dreams are made of. There is nothing you can’t do–other than win an NBA title this season.