The second biggest name in this free agency is just as undecided as the first one. Carmelo Anthony seems to be waiting for things to be set into motion before he announces the name of the team he plans to sign with, as both the Los Angeles Lakers and the New York Knicks seem themselves as front runners to him, while the Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets are probably losing hope.
The Mavericks are already moving ahead with an offer sheet to Chandler Parsons, which means they’re not waiting any more. The Houston Rockets are aggressively pursuing Chris Bosh while trying to trade Jeremy Lin and create cap space. The Chicago Bulls might be a bit more optimistic, but for now we’re not seeing any Plan B from them. Maybe they’re still hanging on to the idea that a team built around Derrick Rose can go all the way.
The New York Knicks don’t have much to offer. Only hope of a 2015 that changes everything, and more money than anyone else. That also means playing on a mediocre team for an entire season. Anthony knows what he’s getting in return for his signature. Maybe he’s hoping that the rumors about Phil Jackson somehow trying to move the contracts of Amare Stoudemire and Andrea Bargnani, somewhere of a combined $34 million together, will open up the cap space to sign LeBron James.
The Los Angeles Lakers? They have the cap space to pretty much sign both LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. But they’re trying to lure Anthony to Los Angeles with things that have nothing to do with basketball. Just him on a team with Kobe Bryant and others isn’t going to win championships. They’re selling him the idea of being the face in Los Angeles. Of giving his wife a job in Hollywood. Championships? Anthony and the Lakers know it’s going to take more than just him.
The NBA is being held to a halt by two superstars who can’t seem to make up their minds. Maybe now that official signing season begins and the gates have been lifted, we’ll start to see the wheels moving in their heads and a decision finally coming out of their mouths, because it’s getting kind of tiring to write and read about more and more speculations, rumors and theories regarding the two.