Carmelo Anthony Deciding Between Knicks, Bulls

SATURDAY, 11:33pm: Anthony is still torn between Chicago and New York, and a decision is expected by Monday, tweets Zwerling.

2:40pm: The Lakers get the sense that Anthony is indeed down to just the Knicks and Bulls, but since they haven’t heard from him, they’re holding out hope, tweets Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.

2:06pm: The Lakers haven’t been told they’re out of the running for Anthony, a source tells Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).

FRIDAY, 12:15pm: Carmelo Anthony has narrowed his choices to the Knicks and Bulls, a source close to the star forward tells Bleacher Report’s Jared Zwerling (Twitter link). Presumably that means the Lakers are out of the hunt, though it seems Anthony, who was reportedly expected to re-sign with the Knicks as of two days ago, is a ways off from a decision. He isn’t going to make his call today, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

The Rockets and Mavs also met with Anthony last week, but they were already reportedly out of the running. The primary focus of free agency shifts to Anthony, No. 2 on the Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings, now that LeBron James, No. 1 on that list, is headed to the Cavs.

The Bulls would have to make a series of moves to clear the necessary cap space to sign Anthony, and if the Lakers are truly out of the picture, that would seem to make it more difficult for the Bulls to coerce the Knicks into a sign-and-trade. He’s eligible for a starting salary of nearly $22.5MM, and while the Knicks have offered that salary, plus the maximum 7.5% raises over the length of a five-year deal, Anthony has indicated that he’d be willing to take less. He’d have to take significantly less to sign with the Bulls, particularly if the Knicks don’t agree to a sign-and-trade.

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