The Spurs have turned the NBA upside-down with their Championship win this week against the Miami Heat. The Heat, who were favored to win a rare three titles in a row, ran out of gas after a relatively easy run through the Eastern Conference Playoffs. Now no one is sure if the Big Three of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh will remain in Miami. Of several scenarios, one that is being thrown around involves soon-to-be free agent Carmelo Anthony coming down to join King James in Miami in 2015. But in order to do that the Heat would have to carve out some serious salary cap space for the premium forward. Plus, we have yet to see if Knicks Prez Phil Jackson will fight for Melo.
Assuming the crazy rumors aren't true that LeBron and Anthony are going to LA or that James is headed for New York to join a basically empty roster save for Anthony, what would be the biggest obstacle preventing Anthony from joining the competitive Heat squad?
Namely, the enormous amount of cash Anthony requires to lace up his shoes. While the rest of the Heat might want to think twice before taking such big pay cuts, there is at least one Heat star who can let go of some of his basketball salary (via Washington Post):
"James... can afford to be flexible with his Heat salary in order to sign his good friend, Anthony. King James is finalizing what ESPN say is believed to be the biggest equity cash payout ever for a pro athlete, earning a profit of more than $30 million in cash and stock as part of Apple's $3 billion purchase of Beats."
One thing is for sure; Knicks President and Phil Jackson and coach Derek Fisher aren't going to bend over backwards to kiss his butt. They want Anthony but he is going to have to meet him halfway and either be patient with the rebuild or let go of some of his sizeable salary (via Bleacher Report):
"Anthony's meeting with Knicks officials on Friday night had little impact on his state of mind, league sources said, because there remain too many uncertainties about how quickly president Phil Jackson can reshape the team into a championship contender...
"Anthony isn't as concerned over a novice head coach in Derek Fisher as he is a roster barren of assets and talent to move toward contention."
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