Carmelo Anthony has opted out of his contract with the Knicks for next season and will hit free agency, as has been the plan since October. The Leon Rose client opened up in a video interview with Vice Sports about his thinking as he considers where he’ll sign next month, as Marc Berman of the New York Post and RealGM transcribe. We’ll share some of ‘Melo’s most noteworthy quotes from the interview, which was taped on June 3rd:
On his desire to help shape the roster of his team:
“As far as player personnel goes, I would love to be involved in that. At the end of the day, you’re creating a family.”
On the practical implications of his decision:
“The average person sees the opportunity to say ‘Melo should go here, ‘Melo should go there, he should do this, I think he should do that. They don’t take in consideration the family aspect of it. Where are you going to be living at? Do you want your kids to grow up in that place or that city? Do I want to stay the rest of my career in that situation and city? All that stuff comes into play.”
On how his family will come into play:
“My son goes to school and loves it here. To take him out and take him somewhere else, he has to learn that system all over again. He has to get new friends. I know how hard it was for me when I moved from New York to Baltimore at a young age, having to work to make friends and fit in and try to figure out the culture in that area. As far as basketball goes, it’s hard to just say OK I’m going to go there. Everybody is affected by it.”
On the importance of the 2014/15 season:
“The average person is looking at it next year — like it’s one year — you can win a championship if you go here. We’re looking at the big picture. You’re looking at the next six to eight years of your career.”
Smart man. Hopefully every media outlet reads that transcript and chills out with the “sources” stories that have him moving all over the country.