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Why did Carmelo stay in New York?

Carmelo Anthony in his time with the New York Knicks. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
Roar Guru
16th August, 2014
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The Lakers, the Knicks or the Bulls. Los Angeles, New York or Chicago. Where would you choose to play?

Carmelo Anthony chose the New York Knicks when he re-signed with the team in July for a reported $124 million, five-year deal. He was pushing for the maximum of $129 million, but accepted the pay cut to stay in the Big Apple.

Other storied franchises were chasing his signature too.

The Los Angeles Lakers and the Chicago Bulls were considered the frontrunners along with New York, with teams like the Dallas Mavericks and the Houston Rockets on the periphery.

Winning-wise, the Bulls were the best option for the seven-time All-Star. Re-tooling with a healthy Derrick Rose and a dominating Joakim Noah, they looked to be one of the favourites in the East, even before LeBron James went home.

The Bulls have looked strong in the playoffs, even without their star point guard in recent years. Maybe the one addition they needed to reach the next echelon of post-season action was a player like Carmelo.

It was a general consensus that out of all the teams courting him, Melo’s best chance for that long coveted championship was in Chicago.

Los Angeles proved a tantalising option too – who would deny the opportunity to link up with one of the greatest players of all time in Kobe Bryant?

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Carmelo had to weigh up the idea that Kobe could possibly be his best chance for a championship, but Kobe was coming off an achilles injury at 35, and the Lakers (at that time) didn’t even have a head coach.

Maybe we’re not giving the Knicks enough credit. They did win their first division title in 19 years in the 2012-2013 season, finishing second in the Eastern Conference before falling to the Pacers in the second round of the playoffs. A year later, they finished ninth in the Eastern Conference, missing the playoffs entirely.

The problem with the Knicks is not their lack of contention in a fairly weak Eastern Conference, it’s the fact that they’re inconsistent.

In the period from 2000-2010, they went through seven head coaches, amassing a 327-493 record, making the playoffs three times and losing in the first round in each appearance.

It was a far cry from the glory days of the two NBA Finals appearances in the 1990s with Patrick Ewing and company. In comparison, in the same stretch of time, the Los Angeles Lakers had one coach, Phil Jackson. The ‘Zen Master’ led his team to a 520-275 record, appearing in six NBA Finals, winning four of them.

The constant with all of these teams, however, is how much change has occurred at each organisation since the beginning of the decade.

The Lakers have not reached the NBA Finals since Phil Jackson left at the conclusion of the 2010-2011 season. The Bulls have had better playoff success, reaching the Conference Finals in the 2010-2011 season, before subsequent years were derailed by injury.

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It’s not just about the records these teams have put together, it’s about the on-court and moves they’ve made too. The Lakers brought in Byron Scott as head coach and the Bulls signed Pau Gasol from the Lakers.

The Knicks brought on Phil Jackson as President and Derek Fisher as head coach. All signs point to a relative degree of optimism for all three of these teams, especially the Bulls who have a mass of proven talent among their ranks.

When analysing Carmelo’s decision, we must ask one question – is his best chance to win a championship in New York? The Lakers are a mess, even with their new signings. The Bulls are contenders, if Derrick Rose can stay healthy.

The Knicks are an interesting prospect though – how will they perform in the 2015-2016 season when they have cap space to work with and (presumably) a year of experience under Jackson and Fisher’s belts?

Carmelo said through it all, his “heart never wavered”, he was “a New York Knick at heart”. He wants to “stay and build with the team”. These sentimental quotes may be empty words if New York cannot achieve success soon.

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