Carmelo Anthony has made it known he will become a free agent this summer, and that he wants to be given the “Dwight Howard treatment” by interested teams. According to the New York Post, Melo reportedly held a free agency summit on Friday with several people, including his agent, Leon Rose.
Via the New York Post:
Anthony, his Creative Artists Agency agent Leon Rose, and CAA adviser William Wesley were in the group of six at a well-known haunt on 28th Street called Pergola in a strategy session discussing their options. The source said the group sat in a private back room.
Anthony has kept an extremely low profile since the regular season ended in mid-April, unlike past offseasons.
On April 29, Anthony met secretly for two hours at a Tribeca steakhouse with Knicks president Phil Jackson, who told him at the time that Steve Kerr was going to be the new Knicks coach.
Things have changed significantly since Anthony and Jackson met. Kerr passed on the Knicks after initially being lowballed on a three-year, $13.2 million offer. Kerr’s reluctance to sign allowed the Warriors to rejoin the fray after Kerr initially declined to interview with them.
Jackson is now back to square one and Anthony could have been getting updates on the Knicks coaching search, which has been at a standstill.
[…] Jackson is not familiar with the CAA agency and has talked about ending the perception that the superagency has undue influence on the Knicks. However, Knicks general manager Steve Mills and assistant GM Allan Houston are close with Wesley.
Jackson, in no uncertain terms, said soon after the season he will need Anthony to take a pay cut — less than the maximum salary — to re-sign. That would give the Knicks greater flexibility in adding to the roster in 2015.
