Phil Jackson suggests Carmelo Anthony left money on the table with new deal
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The details of Carmelo Anthony's new contract with the New York Knicks have still not surfaced publicly, but it sounds as if Knicks' fans should expect a deal somewhere south of the maximum contract.
At least, that's what team president Phil Jackson seemed to be hinting at from Las Vegas Summer League on Sunday.
Phil suggests that Melo did take less money. "He did exactly what we asked him to," & that it may provide a little more wiggle room in 2015.
— Chris Herring (@HerringWSJ) July 13, 2014
To be clear: Phil suggested that Melo structured his deal in a way to take less money in 2015. Still a near-max deal in all likelihood.
— Chris Herring (@HerringWSJ) July 13, 2014
It had previously been reported that Anthony's deal was worth more than $122 million over five seasons, and while that's close to the max, the money could be spread in a way that keeps additional cap space open in 2015.
Bloomberg's Jared Dubin took a shot at what a contract like that may look:
Broussard says Melo deal is "north of $122M." Phil said he took less first 2 yrs. Structure could be 22.5/22.5/24.2/25.9/27.6 = $122.7M
— Jared Dubin (@JADubin5) July 14, 2014
That works under the rules in the collective bargaining agreement regarding annual raises and starting salary, and it would help to keep the 2015 books relatively open. The Knicks are set up to potentially be free agent players next summer, so every dollar Anthony may have sacrificed could be important when trying to add a star alongside him.
Regardless, Anthony is going to be paid very well over the next five seasons.