Over the past couple weeks there has been speculation that Carmelo Anthony's future with the New York Knicks could end at the conclusion of next season, with the latest news being that the Los Angeles Lakers plan on pursuing him and luring him away during free agency next summer if the All-Star opts out of his final year of his deal.
However, according to GM Glen Grunwald keeping Anthony in the Big Apple is a priority. Grunwald said on Tuesday that he sees the Knicks as having a "long-term, successful partnership" with Anthony.
"It's really premature for me to talk about [Anthony's opt-out]. We obviously love Melo, we think he's great for New York and New York is great for him," Grunwald said on a conference call.
"We see it being a long-term, successful partnership with him as we go forward. But right now, it's just too early to say anything other than we're looking forward to this coming season and we expect to have a good year."
If Anthony opts out of N.Y. he would lose a significant amount of money. If he inks another deal with another team, he can sign a four-year contract worth $95,897,372, according to calculations by ESPN salary-cap expert Larry Coon. If Anthony opts out and re-signs with the Knicks, he can sign a five-year contract worth $129,135,806. That's a difference of $33,238,434.
Also he would have to deal with possibly tarnishing his legacy, especially being that he demanded that his former Denver Nuggets work out a deal that landed him with the Knicks. He wanted to come, and if he leaves he'll be blackballed into the Dwight Howard category.
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