I know, I know, you guys are going to rip on me for constantly talking about Carmelo Anthony when he’s nearly a year from free agency and the odds of him coming to the Nets aren’t that great in the first place, but deal with it.
Multiple sources were reporting last night that it looks like Anthony is going to decline Denver’s extension offer and test free agency. Per the Denver Post:
These are some of the dots: He’s selling his Littleton estate; the constant reports of Anthony telling friends that he wants to play for the New York Knicks; his New York wedding; his East Coast upbringing; summer trade talk that has cropped up twice in his time in Denver, which hasn’t always made him feel wanted; oh, and not signing a contract that averages around $21.6 million per year for the next three years, a sizable amount of money that he may not be able to earn with a new collective bargaining agreement.
I said this in a Nets of the Round Table earlier this summer; it’s essential that the Nets go out and have a respectable season this year if they want to go out and attract free agents. While it seems like some of these guys just want to pair up with other “stars” and do what Miami is doing, the Nets could go a long way in attracting guys if they play close to .500 and guys like Brook Lopez and Terrence Williams play like future stars. Fortunately, that seems to be where Mikhail Prokhorov’s head is as owner.