We won't be waiting on pins and needles for Carmelo Anthony's free agent decision for long.
While teams can not officially make their pitches to Anthony, who exercised an early termination option in his contract last week that made him an unrestricted free agent, until July 1, and he can not officially sign until July 10, Anthony doesn't plan to drag his feet.
Anthony hopes to have a decision made in the second week of July, according to a report from Yahoo Sports.
That would mean he'll move quickly after hearing pitches during the July moratorium period, likely making a decision official between July 10 and 13. He is expected to hear pitches from plenty of suitors, primarily the Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks.
The report indicates that those four teams alone will get an in-person meeting in their respective cities. Anthony already knows what the Knicks are pitching, though Phil Jackson reportedly wants Anthony to take a discount but "would be willing to offer a maximum contract if that is what it took."
While there remains a possibility that Anthony and LeBron James could be pitched on a pairing together, the more likely scenario is that Anthony's decision will come after James. That's because most teams making a run at Anthony might as well also pitch James, if he'll hear them, just in case he's interested.
That James domino may need to fall first before a team puts ink to paper with Anthony, which probably doesn't feel great but hey, it's LeBron James.
