Carmelo Anthony has yet to formally announce his plans this summer, but reports indicated that the Chicago Bulls and the Houston Rockets will have a good chance to acquire the New York Knick superstar if he decides to test free agency this summer.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, Anthony will still prioritize the Knicks this summer, but New York's chance is already fading as the All-Star forward is now waiting for the moves to be made by the Bulls and the Rockets.
The Bulls and the Rockets still need to make moves, though, in order to create cap room to offer a maximum four-year deal to Anthony, who averaged 27.4 points to go along with 8.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists in the recently-concluded season.
"Anthony awaits the Chicago Bulls and Houston Rockets to clear the necessary salary-cap space to sign him in free agency, league sources told Yahoo Sports," Wojnarowski wrote. "As re-signing with the Knicks continues to fade as his priority, Chicago and Houston have emerged as the clear frontrunners to acquire Anthony."
Anthony is reportedly intrigued with the opportunity to play under coach Tom Thibodeau in Chicago, who has been leading the Bulls to winning seasons despite playing without superstar Derrick Rose. Chicago's big market along with the quality of players the Bulls have could convince Anthony to make a move to the Bulls this offseason.
The Rockets, on the other hand, are expected to use the possibility of forming a superstar trio with Dwight Howard and James Harden as their main selling point in discussing a potential deal with Anthony.
But while most analysts are already counting the Knicks out, the New York Post reported that the Knicks still like their chances of keeping Anthony, who recently met with Phil Jackson and newly-named coach Derek Fisher in Los Angeles.
"The Knicks still like their odds of keeping Carmelo Anthony following their meeting in Los Angeles with Anthony and his agent Leon Rose on Friday night," the New York Post reported. "Despite a report Anthony was "leaning'' toward leaving the Knicks because of interest from the Bulls and Rockets, Knicks officials did not seem alarmed."
Anthony has until June 23 to inform the Knicks on whether or not he will exercise his $23.3 million option next season.
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