So over the weekend Carmelo Anthony, our very own Baltimore native and current star on the Denver Nuggets, got married. However, the thing that stuck out from the wedding was during a toast made by Chris Paul of the Hornets saying that he, Amare, and Anthony will form their own “Big 3” in the Big Apple.
Now Carmelo Anthony signed his contract the same time Wade, Bosh, and James did but he did not include the player option to opt out of his contract this year, so his contract has a player option at the end of next year. The Nuggets have offered Carmelo a 3 year, $65 million dollar contract extension to begin at the end of next year. “We’re doing everything we can to make ‘Melo the basketball version of John Elway, who plays with one team his entire career and becomes The Guy,” Nuggets general manager Mark Warkentien said.
Melo has said his desire is to stay in the Mile High City but that he wants to see improvements to the frontline so they can compete and win the title. Another interesting tidbit to consider is that it seems the NBA is heading for a lockout due to crazy contracts the players are getting from the owners. The more I read, the more I believe it will happen not if it will happen. The fallout from that will be shorter, more owner friendly contracts it seems.
Another caveat of the NBA is that since 1980, there have only been 8 teams that have won the championship: Lakers 10, Bulls 6, Celtics 4, Spurs 4, Pistons 3, Rockets 2, Heat and Sixers 1 each. To put that in perspective, you would have to go back to 2001 to get 8 teams for MLB and 2000 for the NFL. So for the NBA, the stars matter and who you play with is important.
So Carmelo has some things to ponder. Does he take the guaranteed money and trust the direction the Nuggets organization is going? Does he test free agency next year with the possibility that he may have a shorter, less lucrative contract?
If I was advising Carmelo, I feel he is saying the right things to the Nuggets with encouraging them to improve the frontline of the team so they can compete in the West. If I feel the organization will do what they need to do to compete for a title, I would tell him to accept the contract and guaranteed money. If he felt the money was not as important as testing free agency and putting himself in the best position to win a championship, then I would tell him to do ride it out and if the Nuggets are the best fit, then so be it.
