Carmelo Anthony: 'I don't care about the money'

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The New York Knicks rewarded Carmelo Anthony with a five-year, $124 million deal earlier this month, a princely sum for the seven-time all-star. 

Despite the big paycheck, Anthony says his decision to come back to the Big Apple wasn't about salary.  

"I want to win. I don't care about the money," Anthony told ESPN.com. "I believe Phil (Jackson) 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."

Confidence in Jackson was a primary piece to Anthony's decision, one that he did not arrive at easily. "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.

"I was flip-flopping. 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."

The 30-year-old Anthony has some new faces to look forward to seeing in New York. Jackson, head coach Derek Fisher, as well as new teammates Jose Calderon, Samuel Dalembert, Shane Larkin, Wayne Ellington, Cleanthony Early, and Jason Smith. 

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