NBA Trade Rumors 2014 & Offseason News: Miami Heat Reportedly Pursuing Carmelo Anthony; Will He Leave New York?
Carmelo Anthony has been the center of many rumors this offseason. Nobody knows what the seven-time All-Star will do. Will he opt out or will he take the $23.7 million option that is sitting right there on the table for him to stay in the Big Apple?
According to multiple reports, the Miami Heat have a lot of interest in Anthony and will be targeting him very much this off-season.
This is a lot more complicated than it may sound and would require a lot of finesse. It would need LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade to all opt out of their current contracts and then take an immediate salary reduction with the Heat. If this were to happen, it would mean that four of the top five draft picks from the 2003 NBA draft would be in the same starting lineup.
Other role players like Ray Allen, Norris Cole, Mario Chalmers and Chris Anderson's status will hang in the balance because of such an enormous amount of the team's payroll potentially going towards four superstar players.
Could you imagine a "big 4" in Miami?
One might argue that the Heat still don't have a big man, but the days of dominant centers (Shaq, Hakeem, Kareem) prevailing in this league are over. Adding Anthony with this current squad would easily secure a fifth consecutive Eastern Conference Championship. Opponents wouldn't be able to double team James and leave Anthony wide open and vice versa. Anthony must notify the Knicks by June 23, which is one week before free agency begins, whether or not he plans on staying.
There will definitely be a lot of critics in the basketball world, especially in Los Angeles. In 2011, the Lakers acquired Chris Paul via trade, but as we all remember it was vetoed. The NBA felt it would bring better balance if Paul went to the Clippers instead. Granted, that was a trade, the NBA has stepped in before stopping player transactions.
Chris Bosh, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwyane Wade have all played together before, for the Eastern All Stars.
With so many great players joining forces together, the NBA needs to consider implementing a hard salary cap. The National Football League has a hard cap, which must be followed strictly or costly penalties will follow. The NBA, on the other hand, has a soft cap which is put in place so teams can easily keep their superstar players without hurting their front office financially too bad. The problem is the smaller market teams (Milwaukee, Memphis, Charlotte, Utah) just can't compete to superstar teams when the penalty is simply a luxury tax.
If Anthony wants an easy road to a championship, then he should join the Heat. However, like James, his legacy will take criticism.
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