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The Oklahoma With Thunder have been courting free agent guard/forward Paul George since the end of their season, and they'll officially have a chance to retain him starting July 1. However, they will also have to deal with and see if they can move Carmelo Anthony's significant contract after the forward opted into the $27.9 million player option on Saturday afternoon. The Vertical's Shams Charania was first to report the news, although Marc Stein of The New York Times reported that Anthony had no plans to opt out on Friday.
Sources: Carmelo Anthony has informed the Oklahoma City Thunder that he has opted into $27.9M deal for 2018-19 by not exercising his early termination option.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 23, 2018
According to Charania, Anthony has already informed the Thunder of his decision, and surely, there was no surprise on their end. Anthony is now in the final year of a five-year deal that will pay him just under $28 million, and it's a contract that Thunder would like to move after a rough first season with Anthony.
After averaging at least 20 points per game in his first 14 NBA seasons Anthony averaged just 16.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 0.6 steals per game on just 40.4 percent shooting from the field, all of which are career-lows. He never found his place alongside the Thunder's star tandem of Russell Westbrook and Paul George. Following the team's first round exit at the hands of the Utah Jazz, Anthony expressed doubt about returning to Oklahoma City in a similar role to the one he just played.
“It’s something I really have to think about, if I really want to be this type of player, finish out my career as this type of player, knowing that I have so much left in the tank and I bring so much to the game of basketball.”
Thunder GM Sam Presti, who has been known to draft some solid players and pull off some surprising trades, says that nothing has changed with regards to Anthony and his camp, even after a few months of dialogue.
“We’ve had several conversations with his representation and that’s pretty normal course. I wish I could tell you a whole lot has changed since the end of the season. We’re still in June and the season doesn’t start until October, so we’ll continue to have that dialogue moving forward.”
