Carmelo Anthony: ‘Chicago Bulls Were Perfect Fit for Me’
New York Knicks superstar forward Carmelo Anthony reveals in a recent documentary that him bolting the Knicks for the Chicago Bulls last summer was very real. The former scoring champion even shares that he was so close to signing with the team which he describes as the perfect fit to his skills but held back due to some to other reasons.
Anthony was front and centre in the documentary, "Carmelo: Made in New York," which ironically discusses his mental state in the summer to bolt the Knicks for the Bulls. With the Knicks mightily struggling to implement the triangle offense this season, it would be easy for the former Denver Nuggets star to look back and regret the decision to stay with the team from the Big Apple.
"So it was perfect. It was a perfect setup, perfect fit for me in Chicago. But then also I had to think about just living in Chicago. Do I want to live in Chicago? Do I want to take everything that I created in New York and move all of that? It came down to that," Anthony bared in the documentary reported by ESPN.
Bay Frazier, Anthony's long time manager bared how much the Anthony was on the edge of switching teams. It was the first time for him to enter free agency and the 30-year-old player was playing the switcheroo game daily, waking up one day wanting to team up with Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah and again deciding against it the next day. In the end, Anthony decided that his yearning to bring a championship to New York won out and he re-signed to a massive extension worth 124 million dollars spread over 5 years. Had he chosen to be mentored by coach Tom Thibodeau, he would only net around $74 million if the transaction is an outright signing and not a sign-and-trade deal with the Knicks.
The Knicks are currently struggling in their first 19 games going 4 -15 and is mired on a 5-game losing streak. The team just got back starting point guard Jose Calderon and is having difficulty grasping the share the ball philosophy of the triangle. Anthony is still producing at high levels for the Knicks, averaging 23 points and 6 rebounds a game but his efficiency is down compared to the previous two seasons. If the team loses Thursday to the visiting Cleveland cavaliers, they will record the worst start in the franchise's history with the minimum 20 games.