Carmelo Anthony strongly indicated on Wednesday night that he plans to re-sign with the Knicks rather than opt out of his contract and explore free agency after the upcoming season, writes Al Ianozzone of Newsday. In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Anthony said that he came to New York in hopes of thriving on a big stage and has no plans to give up on his pursuit of a title in the Big Apple.
"I'm not going nowhere," Anthony said during the interview. "That is one of the reasons why I wanted to come here to New York, just so I could take on those pressures and those challenges. A lot of people do not like to deal with the pressure. A lot of people do not know how to deal with the challenges they face. To me, it is everyday life.''
Anthony will make $23.3MM in the 2014/15 season and can re-up with the Knicks for five years and $129MM next summer, assuming he keeps his word about not discussing his contract during the season. The Knicks can begin negotiations as early as February. Other NBA teams can only offer Anthony four years and around $95MM. Asked about Anthony's intentions a few weeks ago, J.R. Smith said that while he expects his teammate to stick around, he also expected him to do the same in Denver too before he eventually left for New York.