Amidst a losing season, a former teammate of New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony believes Anthony will leave the Big Apple after the season. Although the Los Angeles Lakers are a contender for Anthony, a source close to the superstar told the New York Post the Los Angeles Clippers would be Anthony's first choice.
Anthony declared in October he plans to test free agency in the summer, but said his preference is to remain in New York. With the Knicks struggling to a 10-21 record, however, a former teammate of Anthony's doesn't think the star will stay.
"I think he's leaving," the anonymous teammate told New York Daily News on Wednesday. "I've played with Melo for a long time and he knows he can't win here. At this stage, all he wants to do is win. That's why he'll leave."
Anthony has said in the past his only goal now is to win an NBA championship, and with a questionable roster, New York doesn't appear capable of offering him the chance anytime soon.
The Lakers, with an enormous market and the cap space to pay him, have long been speculated as a potential destination - presumably without current coach Mike D'Antoni - for Anthony. Still, the Lakers' current roster isn't a significant upgrade from the Knicks', leaving open the possibility of another city with a more competitive team luring Anthony away.
"Anthony wants to play for a winner, but desperately wants to play in a big market because of his business ventures...," Marc Berman of The Post wrote on Wednesday. "That is why New York, Los Angeles, where he has a home, and even Chicago are on his short list, according to a source.
"The source said the Clippers - with buddy Chris Paul - are more attractive than the Lakers, though the purple-and-gold have cap space and the Clips don't.
"The Clippers would need to do a sign-and-trade to net Anthony, likely with Blake Griffin. The Knicks only would appease Anthony if a threat existed of losing him for nothing to a team with cap space."
The Houston Rockets, if they were able to make the cap space work somehow, could be another alluring destination because of All-Stars James Harden and Dwight Howard.
New York visits Houston on Friday.
