Carmelo Anthony is feeling good where he is, in the crisp, clean Rocky Mountain Air. After reaching the NBA West Finals, do the Nuggets have a chance at the ultimate prize?
Melo is happy to have signed a longer contract. He is the only one of the his high-profile draft brethren to do so as LeBron, Wade, and Bosh are all waiting for 2010 free agency. As Yahoo! Sports reports, it made a lot of sense for Carmelo at the time:
Given Anthony’s poor upbringing in Baltimore, his mother, Mary, told her son she didn’t like the idea of leaving nearly $36 million on the table by opting for a shorter contract. Anthony listened and agreed to a four-year deal with an option for a fifth season that totaled $80 million, allowing him to possibly put off free agency until 2012.
Now you’ve got Melo and a stable situation: a top-tier leader at point guard in Chauncey Billups, a somewhat vindicated George Karl at coach, and successful rehabs/rejuvenations/reincarnations Kenyon Martin, Nene Hilario, and Chris Anderson. Factor in a more mature J.R. Smith (he says jail changed him) and you have a pretty solid staring rotation. Anthony must also know that success begets success. Getting to the Western Conference Finals should add confidence to this crew.
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Not that it really matters, but Greek basketball is providing a second home for some decent NBA role players.
Greek basketball giants Olympiakos just signed Von Wafer to a $10 million deal over two years. Considering he was making less than $800 grand with Houston, it is simple to see why Von Wafer jumped. The same could be said for Linas Kleiza, who played his college ball at Missou but hails from Lithuania. He netted a two year, $12 million deal. No NBA team, in a smaller salary cap era, can compete.
What does it mean for the NBA? Probably not a lot, although you might see a watering down of a lot of good bench players over the next year. Josh Childress started the European exodus with his deal to Greece. He left the Atlanta Hawks to get big money in Greece. Now the Hawks are back in the playoffs and he is averaging 14 pts a game in Greece. But, he has a hefty bank account.
Von Wafer was a good shooter from distance, averaging 39% from the 3-point line. And if asked to score, he could fill it up. Linas Kleiza was a terrific “7th Man” who could plan multiple positions, decent defense, and shoot from the perimeter. Though the Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets won’t be seriously impacted, they will lose some valuable contributors.
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