Carmelo Anthony (Photo : Facebook)
New York Knicks fans have been taunted too many times by rumors of Carmelo Anthony possibly requesting a trade. That's not likely to happen this season.
More and more prominent figures from New York are claiming that Carmelo Anthony is not satisfied with the Knicks. Most prominent examples are Jim Boeheim, Melo's college coach in Syracuse and Walt Frazier, Knicks legend and commentator.
Their main contention is that Anthony wants to taste a measure of success that the Knicks can't provide. Since he started his career, Melo has always made the playoffs until the past two seasons. Missing the postseason a third straight time may cause Melo to bolt.
There are so many trade rumors centering on Carmelo Anthony, anticipating a major tantrum from the superstar scorer if the Knicks falter early in the season. Anthony has a no-trade clause which means he has to approve a trade or initiate the transaction himself.
NBC Sports contends that Anthony will not make a trade demand, at least for this season. And the reason is easy-money.
Anthony is under contract and of course, the conditions of his contract remain the same even if he is traded. But the intricacies of his "no-trade" clause may make him think twice, if he wants to maximize the possible profit.
Melo has a "trade kicker" amounting to 15%, as NBC points out. This means that for him to agree to waive the "no trade" clause, he has to get an extra 15%. So why should he wait for next season?
"Anthony's compensation - salary plus trade bonus - in the season of the trade can't exceed his max salary as defined by years of service or 105% his previous salary, whichever is greater," as explained on the site. "That's why trade bonuses for max players have mattered only minimally. There just isn't much room under the limit for their compensation to increase."
The example in numbers: "if Anthony is traded this year, his trade bonus would be just $2,118,963. That's his room below the max -105% his previous salary ($23,581,321) minus his actual salary ($22,875,000) - multiplied by the number of years remaining before his early termination option (three)."
In other words, since the max salary limits the trade bonus, and the max salary is determined by the salary cap, even the trade bonus would be affected by the expected bump in the salary cap next year.
A brief explanation: "If the cap comes in higher than expected, Anthony could get a higher portion of his potential trade bonus - up to the full 15% of $11,809,692."
Carmelo Anthony is a basketball player but he is also a shrewd businessman. Some would say that that was the reason he chose the Knicks-even if it would mean he might not get a chance at winning a title. However, getting the contract that he signed and with the proper timing, he may get the best of both worlds.
