Carmelo Anthony seems pretty comfortable stepping into LeBron James’ shoes.
Last season, in every city he traveled to, James got the question “can you picture yourself playing in X?” He tried to shut the speculation down, he stopped talking about his contract issue, he said he had thought about playing everywhere. But every stop of the season -- including when he was at home in Cleveland -- the question of his next move hung over him and his team.
It is going to be like that for Anthony this coming season. Don’t expect an hour-long television special to announce where he will take his talents at the end of it, but the speculation -- and a feeding frenzy of it in New York -- will dog him all season long.
And Anthony seems good with that, because he told the Denver Post he is in no rush to make a decision on the three-year, $65 million extension the Nuggets have offered him.
“I’m just taking my time with it,” he said. “Obviously, everybody knows I’m loyal to the Denver Nuggets community and to the Denver Nuggets. I’ve shown that over my seven-year stint here. I don’t think anybody can question that. But at this point in time, I have to do what’s best for me and my family. I’m just taking my time, figuring out if I want to take that extension or not.”
There is no real pressure on him to decide what to do until June 30 next year. By then he has to sign the deal and remain in Denver for three years, pick up the one-year option he has on the end of his current deal (which would pay him $18.5 million) or become a free agent. There are rumors that Anthony is very interested in playing in New York for the Knicks.
The question is, how much money would he lose doing so?
Whatever the Knicks (or any other team) could offer next summer will be dependant on the terms of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (which likely will not be known until a lockout ends). Almost certainly it will be considerably less than the $65 million the Nuggets offered in an extension.
How much less? Nobody knows. If it’s “just” a couple million going to New York may be worth it to Anthony. But what if it is $15 million? Is Anthony willing to bet big that the new CBA will have max deals close to the current one?
It’s a tough question, one Anthony is going to take his time deciding.