Melo to Become Free Agent

Apr 6, 2014; Miami, FL, USA; New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) is pressured by Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) during the second half at American Airlines Arena. Miami won 102-91. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

It has been finally confirmed that Carmelo Anthony will opt-out of his contract with the New York Knicks and test his luck on the free agent market. Even though he can’t receive offers from potential suitors until free agency starts on July 1, rumors are already swirling around Anthony that the Chicago Bulls and Houston Rockets will be the top two front runners once the bidding war begins next month.

The Lakers have also attached themselves to being a potential landing spot for the seven-time all-star for quite some time, but we’ll have to wait and see if they’ll be serious players once the market opens. It is no secret the Lakers are coveting a big free agent splash for the near future, but Anthony being paired alongside Kobe Bryant has raised some concerns on how the two would get along.

There is no doubt Anthony’s skill set would be an instant upgrade to the Lakers’ roster—he did average 27.4 points and 8.1 rebounds per game this past season—but there is some uneasiness on how well Bryant and Anthony would mesh together. These two stars are used to being the alpha player on their respective team. Asking one to take a back seat to the other may be a difficult task. I think if we learned anything from having Dwight Howard and Andrew Bynum in LA, is that team chemistry plays an important role to a team’s overall success. Bryant and Anthony have played together before on the 2008 and 2012 Olympic team that won gold both years, so maybe they can coexist.

Of course, none of that may matter if LeBron James decides to opt-out of his current deal, and the Lakers decide to go after the bigger fish in the sea. Either way, the Lakers should be gearing up for what may be a busy and interesting summer.