Basketball players often have to think about the fact that they are going to have a short career and they need to make as much money as they possibly can. Given the huge sums of money that many basketball players receive each month or year, it is not likely that there will be a lot of sympathy for players having this limited timescale to earn money, but it is something to think about. Not every ex player finds a job coaching, in the backroom or in the media, and this means it is best for players to be sensible.
This means some players will make a number of moves in their career, not necessarily because they believe it is the best thing for their basketball career, but because they believe it is the best thing for their bank balance. This is a player’s prerogative and even though some basketball fans will be unhappy about this, it is all part and parcel of the modern game. The thing is though, this situation means that when a player does show some loyalty and declares to stay with a team, they will likely become a fan favourite.
The player is looking to hang around for the next five years
This may not quite be the case for Carmelo Anthony, as there are a number of factors involved with his decision to stick with the Knicks for his career, but the fans of the club will be happy with his decision. The player has stated that he has no intention of being involved in the free agency circus again in his career, so he looks set to stay with the Knicks for as long as his playing career holds up.
The player, who is 30 years old going into the new NBA season, made a tour of a number of NBA clubs in the summer. Stop-offs were arranged at the LA Lakers, the Dallas Mavericks, the Houston Rockets and the Chicago Bulls. This means that the player cannot say he has been 100% loyal, he did look around to see what was on offer but for whatever reason or reasons, the player has decided that his future lies in New York. It’s a great city and no one would blame you for wanting to stick around in the city that never sleeps.
Business deals may have encouraged Anthony to stay
The Bulls may have provided the player with the chance of gunning for an NBA Championship but Carmelo has decided to stick around and play a role in developing the Knicks into a top team once again. Anthony has signed a five year contract which doesn’t contain any option for an early termination. This means that the player is tied to the Knicks until the 2018/19 campaign. The player pushed a move to the Knicks back when he was playing in Denver, but it seems as though the allure of playing in New York is about more than just basketball.
The player has cited a number of business reasons and deals as being a factor in why he wants to stay in New York, and this will ensure the Knicks fans get the best of him for the rest of his career. When you have something tying you to a city, it becomes harder to move around and these business deals may actually be in place to assist the player after he retires from the game. If this is the case, it makes perfect sense to enjoy the best of both worlds at the moment.
Whether the player is being truly loyal to the Knicks, or he has other reasons for staying in the Big Apple, the fans won’t care as long as he keeps on delivering top class performances for the team.
At 3-1 down in the NBA Finals, many people predicted that the Cleveland Cavaliers would lie down, perhaps looking for the pain to be over and done with for another year. After all, they were facing the record breakers, the team that had shown themselves to be the best of the best by a good...