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| With the relatively unsuccessful season the Knicks went through last year, Melo has been rumored to want to leave New York and head for greener pastures elsewhere, maybe linking up with another superstar to create a team in the Heat's mold |
Only two a half years after the Denver Nuggets traded him to the New York Knicks, superstar small forward Carmelo Anthony has already heard the ubiquitous "Star wants to leave team after under whelming season!" stories that follow elite NBA players at every single stop they make. But the Knicks' franchise player has thrown those baseless whisperings to the curb by asserting that he has no intentions to leave the Knicks in the near-future, even with his lucrative contract set to expire after this season.
New York had a great regular season in the 2012-13 campaign, finishing as the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 54-28 record. Melo had a big role in that productive season, scoring a near career-high 28.7 points per game while shooting nearly 45% from the field. Then came the playoffs. The Knicks had no problem in dispatching the Boston Celtics with ease in the 1st round, winning in six games, but were eliminated in the 2nd round by the upstart Indiana Pacers in a series that also lasted six games. Anthony wasn't as much help in the postseason, as he still averaged almost 29 points but was dreadful percentage-wise, hitting only 40.6% of his shots and less than 30% of his threes.
Melo's extremely-poor shooting efficiency in the games that mattered the most became a massive storyline in both New York and national sports media, as he was widely blamed for his team's premature playoff exit. However, even with the negativity that the Knicks ended their season with and the sudden emergence of their intra-city rivals, the Brooklyn Nets, the swingman who won a national championship in college with the Syracuse Orange still has the utmost faith in his team and is excited to get back for some redemption.
Carmelo Anthony, from Newsday's Neil Best: "I'm not going nowhere…..I actually see this team [the Knicks] being better than last year. That's just my opinion, that's just the way we feel. And if we feel that way as a unit, then there's nothing that can come between us."
Now, was there really any serious chance that Melo would opt out of a contract set to pay him $23.3 million in the season after this one? No, probably not. But for the Knicks' sake, it's comforting to see how adamantly loyal your star is regarding his future with New York. It's rare to see that in the NBA anymore.
