Carmelo Anthony wants a change.
So he told Yahoo! Sports after scoring 23 points in Denver’s season-opening victory against the Utah Jazz Wednesday night. He said he has no intention of signing the Nuggets’ three-year, $64 million contract extension offer.
“They want to sit down and talk, but my thing is it’s way beyond this year,” Anthony told Yahoo!. ”It ain’t got nothing to do with the new GM, Josh [Kroenke], the players. For me, I feel it’s a time for change.
“If I do nothing now, I’m never going to do anything. I feel like my time is now to make a decision if I want to leave or if I want to stay.”
Yahoo! cites “league sources” who say they expect Denver to trade Anthony prior to the February trading deadline in order to get something in return.
The Nets and Bulls have been mentioned as the two most likely trading partners, with a Nets deal built around rookie forward Derrick Favors.
The Knicks have no No. 1 draft picks to utilize in a potential Anthony deal, although Chris Sheridan of ESPN.com recently Tweeted that the Knicks could make a deal for a No. 1 pick if they needed to.
Anthony has not hidden his desire to come to New York. He was born in Brooklyn, as was his wife, La La.
In the upcoming documentary, “Carmelo’s Way,” Anthony talks about his early ties to the City.
“”In New York, there’s a basketball court at every corner,” he says in the film. “You walk outside and everybody’s got a basketball. We had a court right outside in the middle of the projects. That’s all we played. Basketball is all we really knew.”
As for what happens going forward, Anthony told Yahoo!: ”Well, we have to see what happens. I’m keeping my options open.”
