Carmelo Anthony: I want to win
Updated: July 25, 2014, 12:57 PM ET
By Jeff Goodman | ESPN.com

LAS VEGAS -- Carmelo Anthony said it was not the money, but instead his confidence in Phil Jackson and his belief that the Knicks "aren't that far away from contending for an NBA title" why he opted to remain in New York instead of signing with the Chicago Bulls.

"I want to win. I don't care about the money," Anthony told ESPN.com. "I believe Phil will do what he has to do to take care of that."

"I don't think we're that far away," he added. "People use 'rebuilding' too loosely."

In what were believed to be Anthony's first public comments since agreeing to a five-year deal worth $124 million earlier this month, he told ESPN.com that the decision was so agonizing in the final days that he could not watch TV or go onto the Internet.

"It was overwhelming," Anthony said. "It was stressful in the final days, one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make."

Anthony said, though, it ultimately came down to New York and Chicago.

"I was flip-flopping," he admitted. "It was hard. It was Chicago, but then after I met with L.A., it was L.A. But it came back to Chicago -- and was pretty much always Chicago or New York. That's a situation where I could have walked in now to an opportunity to compete for the next however many years."

But the 30-year-old Anthony said he is invigorated to work with a new team president in Phil Jackson and a new coach in Derek Fisher.

"It's a matter of me believing in the organization, believing in Phil," Anthony said. "I wanted to go somewhere where I can end my career."

Anthony, who was second in the league in scoring last season at 27.4 points per game, met with several teams throughout the process: the Bulls, Lakers, Mavericks and Rockets.

He joins a re-tooled Knicks club that dealt away Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton in exchange for point guard Jose Calderon, Samuel Dalembert, Shane Larkin and Wayne Ellington. The Knicks also drafted talented forward Cleanthony Early and added free agent Jason Smith. New York returns Anthony, J.R. Smith, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Andrea Bargnani -- as well as an aging Amar'e Stoudemire.

"I feel like we have a brand-new team," Anthony said. "It's a new beginning. It's excited."

Anthony said he felt LeBron James' move back to Cleveland opened up the Eastern Conference.

"It balances everything out," he said. "There's balance from one to eight right now. The East is balanced."

fishmike wrote:

+1

GustavBahler wrote:

nyk4ever wrote:i am in no way getting on melo about taking the money he took (because i would do the same exact thing he did) but why is he saying he doesn't care about money? if he truly didn't care about money he would have taken less than what he did and to give the team more wiggle room to sign players.

Because saying "Melo needs a new mega-yacht" isnt going to get the fans fired up about next season. I agree its BS, but I can also understand why he wouldnt tell the fans the truth. More concerned with Melo earning his paycheck.

^^^^This...I know we are in the TMZ age, but I coulc care less about how much an athlete makes or what they into microphones. More concerned about how he performs on the court.

nyk4ever wrote:i am in no way getting on melo about taking the money he took (because i would do the same exact thing he did) but why is he saying he doesn't care about money? if he truly didn't care about money he would have taken less than what he did and to give the team more wiggle room to sign players.

I worked for a large bank for 8 years. First 6 years were great. The last 2 were awful. When I was looking for a new job I was more than willing to take a paycut. So money didnt matter... being in a better sitation did. When I started interviewing for my new I knew it was a great spot. When I talked to a few folks I knew who worked there they confirmed that. Does that mean I take whatever they give? No... I declined the first verbal offer. So yea.. I didnt care about money but I still made sure I got good value.

People really need to get over the money. He's max guy. He got several max offers. Its the NBA and the pro sports world. This notion that he should take some big pay cut so fans "feel better" about having him on the team is idiotic. Not for nothing he did take what? a 5% pay cut? Im sure all you guys who make $50k donated $2500 to charity or might be willing to give that back to help their employer right? Its so easy to manage other people's money. Silly.

Folks need to let it go. If Melo stinks next year then go spew hate. Fine. Thats comes with the territory. When he isnt performing then fine. Lets see Melo with Fish in the triangle. Let see the team next year and Melo's fit and role. Pretty much done with this dead horse.

F500ONE wrote:If he believed in Phil and Fish with 5 contracts on the table it would have reflected in his final decision and overall execution of his free agency process.

The fact he allowed the Lakers in the race and then used them for financial leverage is laughable in of itself

Here are what I believe his 5 options were

Option 1---5yrs $129ml
Option 2---5yrs $124mil
Option 3---5yrs $100mil
Option 4---3yrs $65mil
Option 5---2yrs $44mil

The first option was a given if absolutely insisted upon[full max]

The second option was offered, it's the one he accepted, we'll revisit this choosing in a bit[still gets a raise not a real paycut]

The third option was offered reflecting enough to allow real flexibility, he gets paid and we get cap relief[real pay cut]

The fourth option was offered allowing him to get max money but then opt out in 2016 with potential cap space if not used in 2015[player option final yr]

The fifth option was offered allowing us immediate flexibility in 2015, which would be equivalent to opting in on his last year[player option final yr]
This option created the biggest benefit to us and would have provided Phil with more ammo to put a team around him to win quickly

Options 3, 4, and 5 benefited us the most, he didn't choose these options because they didn't benefit him the most.

Choosing the second option, did it show complete trust and a real desire to win?

Obviously not for many reasons, digging deeper and considering the clauses that came with the second choice option////

Melo signed a contract very similar to 2 high profile individuals being wed with a prenup attached to it

Who signs a contract saying I trust you and want to win but please/////

Let me opt out after the 4th season[so I can bank again it's not about money], no trade clause without my consent[because I trust you], if you do trade me[because maybe I can win elsewhere]please apply a 15% trade kicker

Pure Comedic Gold

Please everyone here//// it's okay to like Carmelo if you want but don't allow yourself personal intellect to be insulted by what comes out of his mouth.

Really dude, what you believe and the facts maybe way off.

fishmike wrote:

nyk4ever wrote:i am in no way getting on melo about taking the money he took (because i would do the same exact thing he did) but why is he saying he doesn't care about money? if he truly didn't care about money he would have taken less than what he did and to give the team more wiggle room to sign players.

context. Meaning the money wasnt the factor in him choosing between NY/Chi. Meaning he would have taken a haircut to be in Chi, and was more than willing to do so because he liked that situation enough, so he's 100% correct in saying he didnt care about the money, it was about being where he wanted to be.

I worked for a large bank for 8 years. First 6 years were great. The last 2 were awful. When I was looking for a new job I was more than willing to take a paycut. So money didnt matter... being in a better sitation did. When I started interviewing for my new I knew it was a great spot. When I talked to a few folks I knew who worked there they confirmed that. Does that mean I take whatever they give? No... I declined the first verbal offer. So yea.. I didnt care about money but I still made sure I got good value.

People really need to get over the money. He's max guy. He got several max offers. Its the NBA and the pro sports world. This notion that he should take some big pay cut so fans "feel better" about having him on the team is idiotic. Not for nothing he did take what? a 5% pay cut? Im sure all you guys who make $50k donated $2500 to charity or might be willing to give that back to help their employer right? Its so easy to manage other people's money. Silly.

Folks need to let it go. If Melo stinks next year then go spew hate. Fine. Thats comes with the territory. When he isnt performing then fine. Lets see Melo with Fish in the triangle. Let see the team next year and Melo's fit and role. Pretty much done with this dead horse.

it was a 3.89% paycut and for someone who claims to have worked with money the notion of powers of ten and orders of magnitude seems to elude you.

50 thousand donating 4% leaves a man with 48k.
24.8 million donating 4% leaves melo with 23,808,000 million.

the man has 48,000 left.
melo has 23,808,000 left.

are you claiming that they both sacrificed equally?

talk about silly.

Excited to see this low IQ inefficient chucker lead this team. KISM keep it simple Melo. Passing is too complicated

gunsnewing wrote:Melo being Melo. How many times has this guy had to eat his dumb words

fishmike wrote:

dk7th wrote:

fishmike wrote:

nyk4ever wrote:i am in no way getting on melo about taking the money he took (because i would do the same exact thing he did) but why is he saying he doesn't care about money? if he truly didn't care about money he would have taken less than what he did and to give the team more wiggle room to sign players.

context. Meaning the money wasnt the factor in him choosing between NY/Chi. Meaning he would have taken a haircut to be in Chi, and was more than willing to do so because he liked that situation enough, so he's 100% correct in saying he didnt care about the money, it was about being where he wanted to be.

I worked for a large bank for 8 years. First 6 years were great. The last 2 were awful. When I was looking for a new job I was more than willing to take a paycut. So money didnt matter... being in a better sitation did. When I started interviewing for my new I knew it was a great spot. When I talked to a few folks I knew who worked there they confirmed that. Does that mean I take whatever they give? No... I declined the first verbal offer. So yea.. I didnt care about money but I still made sure I got good value.

People really need to get over the money. He's max guy. He got several max offers. Its the NBA and the pro sports world. This notion that he should take some big pay cut so fans "feel better" about having him on the team is idiotic. Not for nothing he did take what? a 5% pay cut? Im sure all you guys who make $50k donated $2500 to charity or might be willing to give that back to help their employer right? Its so easy to manage other people's money. Silly.

Folks need to let it go. If Melo stinks next year then go spew hate. Fine. Thats comes with the territory. When he isnt performing then fine. Lets see Melo with Fish in the triangle. Let see the team next year and Melo's fit and role. Pretty much done with this dead horse.

it was a 3.89% paycut and for someone who claims to have worked with money the notion of powers of ten and orders of magnitude seems to elude you.

50 thousand donating 4% leaves a man with 48k.
24.8 million donating 4% leaves melo with 23,808,000 million.

the man has 48,000 left.
melo has 23,808,000 left.

are you claiming that they both sacrificed equally?

talk about silly.

No, actually Melo sacrificed more.

Nice of you to join... thanks tfk for waking him up

ok this tells me all i need to know about you.