Jim Boeheim: Bulls Would Have Been Better For Carmelo Anthony
Carmelo Anthony tested the waters of free agency this summer by visiting with several teams including the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, and the Chicago Bulls before deciding to re-sign with the New York Knicks for five years and $124 million. Jim Boeheim, who is currently on the coaching staff for Team USA and coached Carmelo to a national championship with Syracuse in 2003, spoke to ESPN’s Ian Begley about where he thought his former player should have gone:
Just from a basketball point of view it would have been better to go to Chicago because they’ve got better players. But he wanted to be in New York and he wants to see if they can turn it around there. I think that’s a great thing.
Boeheim (correctly) believes that the Chicago Bulls are better equipped with personnel such as Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, and this summer’s acquisition Pau Gasol than the current look of the New York Knicks. According to hit thinking, “that’s not rocket science”.
Due to their cap space, the Bulls could offer Anthony $50 million less than what the Knicks could. The only way for them to increase their offer was to execute a sign-and-trade with New York, which they were never open to discussing. Boeheim also mentioned the presence of Phil Jackson that surely impacted Anthony’s decision,
He stayed because he believes Phil. Derek Fisher, he knows the game. If you’re going to pick a coach who hasn’t coached, he would be the guy I would pick. I think he’s a great choice. I talked to Derek a little bit. I think he’s really smart. I think he’ll be a really good coach. I think they’ll show significant improvement this year. If they get a couple of guys down the road, I think they’ll be good.
Faith in Phil kept Carmelo Anthony in New York, but Boeheim’s desire to see his former player be successful is linked to these comments. Going to the Chicago Bulls would have forged a legitimate and realistic win-now atmosphere for Anthony. Instead, he’s in it for the long haul with the Zen Master in attempts to bring glory back to the Big Apple.
