Report: Carmelo Anthony expected to return to New York Knicks
Carmelo Anthony is expected to re-sign with the New York Knicks, according to a report from Frank Isola of the New York Daily News.
New York reportedly offered Anthony a max contract over five years. He reportedly has considered signing with the Lakers and Bulls, who both were said to have offered him the max over four years.
Shortly after Isola's story was published, Bleacher Report's Howard Beck reported that "[t]eams pursuing [Anthony] have not received definitive word" about his plans. Anthony's agent, Leon Rose, said that the All-Star forward "hasn't made a decision yet," according to a tweet from ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne.
According to Charlie Widdoes, the Knicks' digital media coordinator, Knicks head coach Derek Fisher told the media today that he had not been told anything new about Anthony today.
Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that even if Anthony decides to re-sign with the Knicks, that doesn't mean he'll spend the whole length of the contract there:
More from Isola's New York Daily News report:
A person close to Anthony told
The News
on Wednesday that barring a last minute change of heart Anthony will re-sign with the Knicks after "agonizing over this" for the past week.
"He will have something for everybody on Thursday," said the friend who was with Anthony before Anthony's scheduled workout with
Kevin Durant
and
Kevin Love
in Los Angeles on Wednesday. "He is really torn because this is the biggest decision of his career. But he wants to get it done in New York. He told me he believes in Phil."
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Anthony has played in New York since being traded there midway through the 2010-11 season. The Knicks made the playoffs in Anthony's first three seasons with the team but failed to qualify last season, when they finished ninth in the Eastern Conference.
- Dan Gartland