Knicks power forward, Carmelo Anthony, plans to opt out of his contract with the Knicks by exercising the Early Termination Option (ETO) on his contract later this month. This decision will make him a candidate for several teams, including Chicago, Houston, Dallas and the Los Angeles Lakers, reported by the New York Daily News.
New York Knicks power forward, Carmelo Anthony, plans to opt out of contract.
According to ESPN’s Ian Begley, Phil Jackson has pushed for Anthony to resist using his ETO and play the 2014-15 season for his $23.3 million salary. If Anthony does decide to re-sign with New York on a long-term deal, Jackson will try to sell him on doing so at a discount price to allow the Knicks salary-cap flexibility.
Jackson hoped Anthony would consider opting in to the final year of his contract. “I told him it might be a good idea to hang in here and see what it’s like for a year and go out the next year,” Jackson said. “But that’s his option, that’s what he’s earned, and that’s what’s part of his contractual agreement. He has the right to do that. But I just offered that as, ‘Look, this gives you an opportunity to see how this is going to change, see how we’re going to get going, your relationship to the team and the coach and the system or whatever, the system we impose.”
Jackson said late last month that he “wasn’t losing sleep” over Anthony’s free agency but was “definitely concerned” that Anthony may sign with another team. “It only takes one bidder out there that has the ability and can ruin your hopes and your chances,” Jackson said. The New York Daily News reported earlier Thursday that Anthony intends to test free agency barring a “dramatic change of heart.”
New Knicks coach, Derek Fisher said in an interview earlier this week on ESPN 98.7 FM’s “The Michael Kay Show.” “I want him to be back with the New York Knicks and to remain a part of what we’re trying to do here and what we will do. So I don’t think anyone has expressed a lukewarm feeling about wanting him back. I think we’re all trying to be respectful as people. Carmelo is a great person. He’s a family guy and they have decisions that are sometimes independent of what is best for everybody else. So you respect that process.”
Anthony has until June 23, 2014 to notify the Knicks as to whether he opt out of his contract.
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