Will Melo re-sign with the Knicks if he opts out? (USATSI)
On Thursday, Carmelo Anthony said that while the craziness of this Knicks season will affect his decision making in free agency, whether the Knicks make the playoffs will not.
FWIW, Carmelo says "us making the playoffs and my [free-agency decision] have nothing to do with each other."
— Chris Herring (@HerringWSJ) February 27, 2014
He said the craziness of the season would, but... MT @NG2_4: Isola tweeted that this season WILL weigh into Melos decision. Which one is it?
— Chris Herring (@HerringWSJ) February 27, 2014
... Carmelo said reaching the playoffs, specifically, wouldnt be much of a factor on his free-agency decision. The craziness of the yr might
— Chris Herring (@HerringWSJ) February 27, 2014The Knicks are games back of the Hawks for the 8th seed with 25 games left, and Detroit and Cleveland still hanging around with a chance to make a move. Atlanta's also going to get healthy again at some point (their entire frontcourt minus Elton Brand has been out). So the odds aren't great.
Anthony's decision should be predicated more on the direction of the franchise. A late playoff push and an early first-round exit, a clear step backwards, might do more harm than good compared with a simple "everything went wrong" justification. The big key will be what teh Knicks can offer Anthony this summer in the way of improving the team.
But I still return to the same idea over and over. Anthony has always opted for the money. That's why getting traded to New York before he was a free agent under the old CBA, so he could re-sign for the max, was so important to him. On some level, you have to believe he's going to re-sign, if only becauss that fits his M.O. the most.
Basketball Hot News
Mask-wearing LeBron James appears a go against Knicks Thursday
This is not a surprise, and coaches always tend to cover their bases when speaking to media, but it looks like LeBron James is a go against the Knicks wearing a mask to protect his broken nose.
Erik Spoelstra says LeBron went through walkthrough and anticipation is he plays, "So I would say in strong pencil."—
Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) February 27, 2014
LeBron suffered a broken nose when hit by Serge Ibaka on a drive late in the game against Oklahoma City. LeBron finished the drive with a basket (and no foul was called) but had to leave the game. He sat out the Heat’s game Sunday against Chicago because of it.
LeBron played for part of a season in Cleveland with a mask and his numbers pretty much paralleled his regular season stats (if anything they were slightly better).
Getting used to the mask against the Knicks “defense” seems a good way to break in slowly.
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