2:22pm: Marc Stein of ESPN.com has the figures for all five seasons (on Twitter): It’s the maximum $22,458,401 in year one, followed by a discounted raise to $22,875,000 for year two, and maximum raises that bring Anthony’s salaries to $24,559,380, $26,243,760 and $27,928,140 in the final three years. That brings the total value to $124,064,681, exactly $5,071,124 less than the maximum for which he could have signed.
8:42am: Anthony will receive his maximum salary in the first year of his deal, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. That precise max is $22,458,401, and it allows for a raise worth $1,684,380 each season. However, Anthony’s raise for the second season of the deal is $400K, Berman reports, adding that the contract will also include a 15% trade kicker should Anthony decide to waive his no-trade clause.
7:19pm: The deal also includes a no-trade clause, according to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News (Twitter link).
TUESDAY, 7:00pm: Anthony’s contract will be for $124MM over five years, sources tell Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com, who adds that Anthony will have an early termination option after the fourth season. The deal – which starts at $22.5MM in the first year – includes a “slight increase” in the second year followed by “larger increases” thereafter (Twitter links).
MONDAY, 10:05am: Anthony took a discount, Jackson confirms, and while the deal is for an estimated $122-123MM, the total value remains unclear, as Marc Berman of the New York Post details.
SUNDAY, 11:54am: Phil Jackson also confirms the pending agreement via the Knicks official Twitter account (Twitter links). Jackson said, “After 3 months of questions around Carmelo Anthony’s return to the NY Knicks we are now happy to know that we have the cornerstone of what we envision as a team of excellence. Steve Mills and I have assured Carmelo through our conversations, that we share the vision and the determination to build this team.”
SUNDAY, 11:28am: Anthony has confirmed he will be returning to New York via his website. In his announcement, ‘Melo said, “This organization has supported me and in return, I want to stay and build here with this city and my team.” Contract details have not been announced yet.
1:10pm: The deal is for five years and more than $120MM, but the final amount is undetermined, and Anthony may still accept less than the max, sources tell Wojnarowski.
SATURDAY, 12:05pm: Carmelo Anthony will inform the Knicks of his decision to re-sign in New York within the coming hours, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Frank Isola of The New York Daily News first reported Anthony’s intention to return to New York earlier this week, but the former scoring champ appeared to fluctuate over the last few days in deciding between the Knicks, Lakers and Bulls. ‘Melo will sign a five-year contract. The deal will presumably be for a maximum salary of $129MM, although Knicks president Phil Jackson has suggested that there were multiple salary structures on the table for Anthony.
Anthony, ranked second in the Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings, was encouraged by the momentum Jackson had garnered the franchise, which included hiring Derek Fisher as head coach and acquiring Jose Calderon via trade. The Bulls offered ‘Melo the best opportunity to contend in the upcoming season, but were unable to offer nearly as much annual salary or as many years as New York, who exercised their Bird Rights to extend the winning bid to retain the All-Star.
The client CAA client will remain in New York for the duration of his prime, after coming to his home state in a 2011 trade from Denver. Since joining the Knicks, ‘Melo has put up some of his most effective seasons as an individual, but seen mixed results as the centerpiece for a blockbuster team. The Knicks have won a single playoff series since obtaining Anthony.
A series of poor decisions had turned the Knicks from hopeful contenders to a laughing stock to many last season, in which they finished 37-45. The hefty contracts for Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler, and Andrea Bargnani left the team with no cap flexibility, and a history of parting with draft selections and prospects had them headed toward the 2014 draft with no picks. However, Jackson was able to swing a series of moves that sent Chandler to Dallas and earned New York multiple second round picks.
‘Melo will hope Jackson, who has managed some of the game’s greats to many titles as a coach, can work some of the same magic as an executive. Jackson will work with Fisher to implement his triangle offense around Anthony’s strengths. Anthony’s belief in the future of New York will likely play a large part in determining his legacy, and whether he ever finds prolonged success in the playoffs. Anthony has standout averages of 25.3 PPG and 6.5 RPG for his career.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
This just in: Carmelo Anthony’s career has officially been eliminated from playoff contention.
Maybe he can go the Gary Payton route and try to sign on with a real contender when he’s forty and barely able to play.
lol i didnt realize they would of handed melo a ring if he joined the bulls. He chose the certainty of an extra 50 mill, playing in a place he loves, over the POSSIBILITY of winning a ring. Nothing wrong with his decision.
Much better chance at a ring with chicago then ny though
yeah for next year but after that who knows
Common sense knows. Lebron in Cleveland means they’re the power in the East, and likely to acquire Kevin Love who is actively lobbying for the trade. Meaning without a strong supporting cast, he’s not getting out of the East for the next 5-10 years. Really, only Chicago would have given him that opportunity. There just aren’t the players coming up in the next few years of free agency to make New York legit. Love’s out, Aldridge already took himself out…what’s left? Mark Gasol? Maybe he’ll come play with Melo, but he’s really more of a third or fourth piece.
No, I can say with a fair amount of confidence that Melo will not win a title during that contract, short of being shipped out himself.
and I can say with the same confidence the bulls won’t win either but to write off a player just because he didn’t pick your team seems salty
Um…no, I’m writing him off because he isn’t Lebron and needs a cast better than Lebron, who’s teaming up with possibly two other players younger and better than Melo. There is no fix in site for Melo in New York, the options are dissolving fast.
The Bulls are picking up Pau Gasol. They may have enough to win the East this year already.
Man Melo is so underrated if you think Irving is possibly better than Melo…
“This just in: Carmelo Anthony’s career has officially been eliminated from playoff contention.”
funny you say that about a guy who has only missed the playoffs once in his career, it seems salty
There’s a difference between getting to the playoffs and contending in the playoffs.
But if getting to the playoffs is all that matters to you…you should be fine in a few years. Enjoy that Cleveland – NY 1-8 matchup in the first round until Melo retires.
the bulls haven’t proved they can contend in playoffs with rose either
You know, other than getting to the Easter Conference Finals and having the #1 seed a few times.
The Bulls lost a few years due to injury, but let’s not act like they weren’t the only team that had a chance to come out of the East other than Miami in their four year run.
got bounced in the 1st round as a number one seed, they were never in that series against the heat in the ECF with rose
They got bounced in the first round after a season ending injury to their best player in game one. Misrepresenting reality like that is making you seem like a troll.
They did lose that first year to Miami and didn’t have much of a shot. It was their first time there. If Rose didn’t get hurt in year two, things would have been a lot different second time around. The supporting cast is better now. Look at the strides Noah and Gibson made. Look at Jimmy Butler.
how am I misrepresenting reality? the reality is the bulls haven’t been true contenders for whatever reason and they still have to prove that they can contend
They were the only team in the last four years that could contend with Miami at any point. No one else could make that claim. It’s moot, because Miami got out of the East all four years, but talent wise no one was on the Bulls or Miami’s level in that time frame.
Currently, the Bulls are now the most talented team in the East. If they get Gasol, they’ll get out of the East this year, with Cleveland being the only team that might give them trouble.
But nice misdirection. This is about Melo and his no-chance Knicks. Tell me, who are the players coming out in free agency that will make New York better than Cleveland and Chicago? It won’t be love. It won’t be Aldridge. Marc Gasol might come, but he’ll be out of his prime by then. Tell me, who are these magical 1a and 1b pieces to put next to Melo?
No, I’m sorry. The Knicks are not competing anytime soon. If anything, they’ve put themselves in lottery hell. They can’t improve drastically, but with Melo they’re good enough never to get a top draft pick.
Enjoy a decade of non-contention, Melo!
actually marc gasol would be perfect for the system basketball the knicks want to play, Phil jackson has a plan a philosophy, he knows exactly how he wants to construct his team, from what I understand he likes two star caliber players so if the knicks do get gasol then they’ll have that.. then he fills out the rest of the roster with roll players he sees fit(hes already done a nice job of getting some young talent) Melo is just one of the first few pieces to a complete overhaul, if james dolan was still running their offseasons than I’m with you contract and lottery hell for the next few years but I trust Phil to instill a new culture & its already started, he has a vision, Thibs has been rocky with the bulls front office for a few years now, their owner has been hesitant to spend & won’t pay the luxury tax, Chicago has its problems 2 but I’m done arguing we’ll see what happens this year take care man
Nothing like making a non-sense point and then saying I’m done arguing.
Marc Gasol in his 30’s is not going to be a solution to a building Knicks team, he will be a hindrance by the time they getting pieces around him and Melo.
Culture is a really nice word that teams use when they don’t have any obvious way of improving talent. If Phil has a vision, it isn’t obvious to anyone who’s looking at upcoming free agency. There aren’t pieces to build a contender there. Using the word culture to compensate for that doesn’t make it a reality.
The Bulls made trades to get out of the luxury tax last year because Rose was out for the year. They would have paid it otherwise. Acting like the Bulls have a problem paying the luxury tax based on that circumstance is, once again, misrepresenting reality. But I suppose as a Knicks fan you’re going to have to get used to doing that. Enjoy that Phil Jackson “culture”!
link to blogabull.com…
I will enjoy it I already am, you keep talking about age when you want a 34 year old gasol and you think that will put the bulls over the top, you overvalue a 35 year old kobe, noah is going to be 30 this year, its all fine for them but marc gasol and the knicks its no good lol
just like you said gasol/ melo/ kobe would compete in the west but with the knicks they can’t compete with guys in their 30s lol Its clear to me you don’t like the knicks
I havent read this thread yet, but dont forget this is the same guy that felt like that laker team would be better than the hypothetical heat team i mentioned before bosh came back, and thats with the lakers in the west and the heat and knicks in the east….why even waste your time
Kobe could be 40 and he is better than anyone on the Knicks roster not named Melo. That argument is asinine.
The Bulls are ready to win now. That’s the difference. Marc Gasol is turning 30 and he’s still a year away from free agency. By the time there are pieces around him, he’ll be Pau’s age. The reason it works for the Bulls is they need him to be a smaller piece.
It’s hilarious that we’re arguing about a middling talent’s availability as the point of contention. On the basis of him being the best available free agent to kickstart the Knicks speaks volumes about how dire their circumstances are.
You don’t know anything. Marc Gasol is better than Pau at this point which you ignore cause you’re biased and the bulls are going to get him. Melo chose a fine shot at winning with Phil Jackson and cap space, guaranteed money, and the idea of being loved in NY win or lose like Ewing just for coming back. Maybe if the bulls didn’t commit so much to boozer they’d have the flexibility. Enjoy being salty.
I don’t know anything? I know you are misinterpreting my argument. I never argued Marc Gasol was a worse player than his brother (though Pau’s peak was higher). I argued that he’s not a #1a/2 piece, and by the time he’s on the Knicks (a huge if), he’ll be beyond his prime and starting to tail off.
The Bulls, on the otherhand, do not need Pau Gasol to come in and be #1a/2. They need him to be that 5th/6th piece that elevates a team that’s already a huge contender. Bravo Bulls. It’s never been a better time to be a Bulls fan!
Do you even know what the word “misinterpreted” means? If you use it one more time I will puke
Well, if you’re not misinterpreting my argument then you’re misrepresenting it. But go ahead and puke, your mouth seems to be good at it when you talk.
False. The only team that could contend with Miami is the regular season Indiana Pacers. That’s it in the East. You sound like a sore loser that you didn’t get Melo, when frankly he will have a lot of opportunities with all of that cap space opening up for the Knicks next year and Rondo and Marc Gasol possibly teaming up with him in NY
It speaks to your basketball acumen that you thought the Pacers were a threat to the Heat.
The Pacers took the Heat to 7 games, and were one of the top 2 teams in the East the last 2 years. The Bulls, due to injury, could never be labeled a serious contender. Even now, it all hinges on a guy who hasn’t played regularly in 3 years. The Bulls will be good, but I won’t believe it until I see a healthy Rose play
No, the Heat allowed that to happen. The Pacers do not possess the talent to win at that level. I don’t think the Pacers are a bad team by any means, but I don’t think they’d even beat Miami currently sans Lebron. The East is likely to shape up Cle/Chi, followed by Miami at the next tier and then the Pacers and Washington a tick lower than that.
No they didn’t, they took them to 6 and looked severely outplayed in every loss. After trading Granger they never looked the same and proceeded to go 16-14 post all star break. The Pacers continue to be the most overrated team in the sport.
There also a good chance Rose isn’t healthy, and an even better one that hes not the player he once was. But yes even without Rose that team is probably a top 2 seed in the east. But I really can’t see any East team beat a West team in the finals.
Why is there a good chance Rose isn’t healthy? He’s already beyond the recovery time for his last injury and all reports say he’s moving uninhibited. He doesn’t have a degenerative condition like Brandon Roy. Both of his injuries were fluke things.
You are making statements like you are his doctor. You are not his doctor. Nothing about either of his injuries would indicate long term health issues, the only people saying otherwise are media trolls.
Watching Rose play last year he looked physically healthy but not mentally healthy. He didn’t cut to the basket as often as he used to. Also he looked a little timid when doing so.
Having torn my ACL/MCL I think recovering mentally is the hardest thing. Although I knew that my knee was healthy enough to jump my mind just wouldn’t allow me to do it for about a year after injuring it. When I did jump I would favor landing on my other foot instead of on both feet. Things like that may be a reason why Rose may not be “healthy” or the same.
Granted everyone is different and Rose is a professional athlete while i just play basketball at the gym to stay in shape….
There’s a difference between “it takes time mentally” and “never be the same player again”. Those saying that are not speaking out of experience, but rather trolling out of ignorance of the truth of that medical condition.
I never said that I don’t think he will be the same player again. However, the concern is there. That is now two years with a major knee injury. A repaired ACL/MCL is actually stronger in most cases although it is less flexible and therefore less explosive.
In my case before I got hurt I could dunk consistently and now I can dunk only on a “good” day. Than again I am not a professional athlete and do not have the same medical care that they are afforded.
lmao this guy, let me break it down for you, going to Chicago is a huge risk when talking a 50 million dollar difference, Drose hasn’t played in 2 years & if he is healthy that is two ball dominant players that have to learn to play with each other, if rose doesn’t stay healthy its amare all over again, Thibs is not an offensive coach so if rose were to go down its iso melo all over again plus it would be his third team, In NY he can play system orientated basketball that could slow the game down and make it easier for him(he’s never had that in his career), Phil is a champion and has already shown he is committed to building a winner sooner rather than later. who is with the bulls that has the pedigree of jackson? The knicks bad contracts come off the books after this year. melo even came out and said its not about going somewhere to win a chip next year, its about where his family is comfortable and where he wants to be for his career, as well as build a winner. Chicago never proved they can truly contend with rose. Chicago has a better chance of winning next year but its not a given. maybe he would give up 50 MIllion to play with someone like lebron who’s been to the last 4 finals but there are to many risks in chicago to give up that kind of dough
In a perfect world Melo would probably end up with the bulls but to give up $50 million dollars of your families security to put your faith in Drose’s weak knees just doesn’t make sense
I think Melo will adjust just fine playing with Rose (if he is healthy). He had success playing alongside AI and AI was a shorter more explosive Rose.
didn’t say they couldn’t make it work it was more about growing pains
Yeah, I just wanted to point out that he has played with another ball dominant guard previously. That said I think the Knicks are the better choice (especially if he takes a deal for less than max) as the Knicks will have a lot of cap space next year.
I agree I’m with you im of the belief that melo could make it work with anyone,
Yeah I think Melo is really underrated by many in the media. Definitely a top 10 player in the league right now. Last years Knicks team was a mess that ran no offense and as a result Melo was often forced into terrible shots because of the shot clock.
With Phil you guys (assuming your a Knicks fan) will have a very bright future. He will find a way to add another star and than surround the team with solid role players. As a coach he knows what is needed for a championship winning team and I think he will find a way to acquire it.
I feel the same way, the selfish stuff and the terrible defender stuff is overblown by the media(hes an average defender but not terrible) I agree, if James Dolan was running this offseason again I’d say the knicks are in trouble but with Phil everything changes he’ll instill a culture that is about winning and playing team orientated system basketball, he knows what type of player he is looking for and I trust he’ll do what he can to get them but the future is looking much brighter than it was 4 or 5 months ago and that is really all I ask for lol
to be fair, Gary Payton made a few really big plays in the 2006 Finals…including a game winning shot
I still cant believe how amazing the Tyson Chandler trade was for the Knicks. How did Phil Jackson do that? He must have something on Mark Cuban…then they luck out with the picks they got and end up with Cleanthony Early…I really like what the Knicks have done so far. They should be better in the upcoming year. If they somehow find a way to actually move Amare or Bargnani’s expiring contracts, that would be crazy…Having said that, I dont know why Melo would want to waste another year at this point in his career (though I didnt think the Bulls were a good fit for him anyway). They obviously should have the cap room to add Marc Gasol and others next offseason, but that just means another year of mediocrity. Guess he really just loves living in New York, having grown up there. It probably also is the reason why he is taking the max, instead of less money to stay
Trades don’t have to be a zero sum game. Trade was great for both teams. For NY for the reasons you mentioned AND for Dallas. Getting rid of Calderon’s contract PLUS getting Tyson back AND his expiring contract. Win-Win.
love the knick fans… melo takes less but its only 9 million so 120 instead of 129, 9 million gets you what? second thing who says marc gasol is a lock to come to the knicks, same way kevin love was a lock for the lakers because he played his college ball in LA? or like dwill was a lock to sign with the mavs cause he lives in dallas? players are choosing teams that can win them rings right now, LBJ just proved that he was just in the finals looked at this team decided he couldnt win an moved on so players are gonna look at the knicks an think man im the missing piece lol marc most likely is gonna resign with the grizzles… other comment that had me laughing was melo only missed the playoffs once in his career, how many playoffs have the bucks made in the last 10? were they ever a real contenders or just someone thats happy to make the playoffs. knicks will make the playoffs at some point but they aren’t title contenders an thats manchershaw point melo on the bulls they could win a ring on the knicks right now nope, an unless KD is coming thru the door that isnt gonna change
Well said.
You wrote all of that and didn’t even make one point.
a)You seem to think that they shouldn’t have given Melo that money, yet you say that they shouldn’t expect to sign other free agents…soooo what is it you’re suggesting, they should build a team full of overpaid mediocre talent like they did in the 2000s?
b) DWill said he was going to Dallas, until Cuban skipped the meeting with him for a taping of Shark Tank
c)What do the Bucks have to do with Melo? He’s consistently made the playoffs – and played well during them, but simply has never had the team around him to go much further. What’s your point here?
d)The deal Melo accepted was the one Phil asked him to accept to give them more room next year. When the cap goes up tremendously in 2016 because of the new TV deal THAT’S when Melo’s money starts to rise. So yeah, Melo did them a favor and gave us more room to work with next year. We went from having about 15 mil in cap space to having about 17 mil. A trade of JR and suddenly they can afford a max player, something they WOULDN’T have had if Melo accepted the 129 mil deal.
a) melo said he was going to take less yet left a 6 million on the table whats does 6 million buy? your not trading JR smith stop, another knick fan that thinks other teams want your garbage, bet you thought Iman Shumpert for Kenneth Faried not only was going to happen but you were getting a pick in that proposed deal too lol. The way teams are built you need 2 to 3 stars type players the knicks dont have that an i dont see any walking thru the door he wanted to play for the bulls and they couldnt pay him plain and simple i would have signed and traded him over get a bunch of young cheap players and take the nuggets approach reload
b) no dwill was a lock to sign with dallas or are you forgetting that was the big talking point of that free agent season an he didnt nobody is a lock to sign anywhere the idea that marc gasol is a lock for the knicks is a joke no player is a lock anymore
c) the bucks comment was made because making the playoff isnt as hard as you would believe i was responding to the comment that he’s a winner. if your not trying to tank you can fight for the 8th seed those bucks teams were good enough to get bounced in the first round every year because they werent trying to tank, melo’s nuggets were contenders (or gonna tell me nene was trash?) and he didnt play well and didnt get his team over the hump thats on him he’s yet to dominate any playoff series but i wont hype being able to just make it to the playoff when you have 8 chances to do it.
d) cap is going to go up by how much who knows… tremendously might be a understatement by all accounts it may only be by 5-7 millon more and if you have bad contracts that weigh down your payroll they will still. The idea melo really took less was a joke, i dont think phil had 6 million in mind when he suggested taking less and while the cap is going up that apply’s for all teams. A max contracts value going forward will increase so more players are going to resign to get that extra year an the prices for midlevel players will continue to rise its all gonna even out 6 million wont make a difference it needed to be alot more. And even if you whole point is two seasons from now sure when dead money comes off your gonna have room but wouldnt the lakers, celtics and others have that same room if not more becuase they dont have a max contract on their books? he didnt do anybody any favors but he did get that big deal he was looking for
It would have been interesting to see him replace LeBron in Miami with Wade & Bosh.