Carmelo Anthony's New York Knicks were unable to make the NBA Playoffs, and it will be the first time in Melo's 11-year career that he did not make the postseason. The upcoming free agency period will be a big one for Anthony, as he has a choice of resigning with the Knicks for big money or heading to a team like the Chicago Bulls or Houston Rockets.Per ESPN, Anthony will exercise his Early Termination Option (ETO) so he can become a free agent this summer. With many experts suggesting that Anthony will stay, it's very well possible he could in fact head to a team like Houston or Chicago, especially with the latest news regarding the salary cap.
The NBA will be raising the projected salary cap from $62.9 million to $63.2 million, according to sources. Along with that, the tax line will go up from $75.7 million to $77 million. This helps teams like the Rockets and Bulls, where they can create more space to make a deal to have Anthony on their team work.
However, money will be a major factor into this. Anthony can stay with the Knicks and can receive a max deal of nearly $130 million over five years. With a team like the Bulls, it's likely around $95 million over the same time period.
The first-year salaries are also significantly different. With the Bulls, Anthony will likely make around $17.5 million in his first year, which is about $5 million less than what he would make if played with the Knicks.
The Rockets may end up as the more enticing option since they won't have to gut down their roster as much Chicago would have to in order to acquire Melo. With increases to the luxury taxes, the Rockets are able to give Melo a max while staying just under a little over the tax line. Yes, that is possible even with the contracts of Dwight Howard and James Harden.
The only thing that will keep Houston from doing such a deal would be if they can't find a trade partner. They would have to find a way to unload Jeremy Lin and/or Omer Asik in a sign-and-trade deal with the Knicks and possibly a third team to make Melo coming to Houston possible.
July is a long way from right now, though, so of course there is going to be tons of speculation of what teams will get Anthony. It all depends on Melo when it's all said and done.
With that, I think he ends up staying with the Knicks.
