The Oklahoma City Thunder have kickstarted talks with forward Carmelo Anthony's representatives, giving him a rundown of his potential options with an early termination, according to Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman.
OKC general manager Sam Presti noted during exit interviews that the team would talk to Anthony about his role over the course of the offseason.
Clearly, neither side is content.
Anthony is owed a whopping $28 million next season, which is a lot to pay for a third scorer in a team.
The perennial scorer didn't gel with his new teammates in Russell Westbrook and Paul George last season, seeing a quick first-round out against the Utah Jazz — a major disappointment for a team that is shelled out over $74.3 million for the Big Three last season and could spend as much as $84.2 million this season. That figure could balloon to 108.2 million when including Steven Adams' glowing new contract that comes into play.
It's clear the two sides are bound for a divorce, but the agreement will have to make sense for both parties in order to dole out a buyout.
Anthony will want to get every last dime available to him, with this being likely the last large contract he could yield in his playing career, while the Thunder will try to minimize costs with two other max-level players under contract and George's impending extension on the line.
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