So much for all the talk of Carmelo Anthony being willing to take a paycut to stay with the New York Knicks. With teams around the League going after their star free agent forward, the Knicks reportedly made it clear they’re ready to offer Melo the most money. Per the NY Post:
During their final meeting in Los Angeles, Jackson told Anthony he will give him the maximum contract of five years, $129 million, which would blow the competition out of the water. Anthony didn’t give Jackson a commitment, nor has he decided whether he will take the small paycut the Knicks would prefer.
Jackson has said giving out max contracts puts “limitations’’ on a club trying to build a title winner, but he showed he can’t afford to lose his cornerstone player for whom the Knicks traded the farm during the 2010-11 season.
In a sequence of events made for Hollywood, the Anthony free-agency tour ended Thursday with Jackson and Lakers president Jeanie Buss squaring off in separate meetings for the heartstrings of Anthony. The two team presidents are engaged to be married.
