New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony reportedly favors signing with the Chicago Bulls in July when he becomes a free agent. Chicago may be ahead of the Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers in terms of likely destinations for Anthony, Yahoo! Sports reports.
"The losing, the decaying roster, has inspired 'Melo to consider closely the possibilities of free agency this summer," Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports wrote on Saturday. "Within the past several weeks, a longtime confidant of Carmelo Anthony confesses, something changed. Never did he believe there was a chance Anthony would leave the New York Knicks - never the Madison Square Garden stage, never the $129 million contract extension.
"Only now, the gloom of the Knicks' season - the uncertainty of the franchise's future - left that man to believe it's possible Anthony could leave New York in free agency.
"'Chicago is much more in play for him than L.A.,' the source said."
Wojnarowski added: "The Bulls traded Luol Deng for draft picks and are leaning strongly toward using the amnesty provision on Carlos Boozer. They could create a maximum contract slot for Anthony, pairing him with Derrick Rose."
Anthony announced in October he planned to opt out of his contract after the season, although New York - at the time - was thought to be the team most likely to ink him to a new deal.
After the Knicks' season began unraveling, however, a myriad of Anthony-related rumors began to make the rounds: from Anthony trying to recruit Celtics star Rajon Rondo, to the Lakers as a possible home, to Anthony preferring to sign with the Clippers.
New York (17-27) doesn't have much salary cap flexibility, and they don't have many assets to offer in for any big trades. If Knicks owner James Dolan feels Anthony's departure from the Big Apple is imminent, Dolan could look for a sign-and-trade to prevent Anthony from walking for free.
