The Chicago Bulls were one potential suitor for Carmelo Anthony during his free agency period this past offseason and the Knicks star revealed just how close he was to bolting New York in a documentary that aired Wednesday night.
Anthony said he convinced himself to leave New York for Chicago this offseason and was ready to sign with the Bulls at one point.
"It was one part of time where I was just like, 'Yo, I'm going,'" Anthony said in the documentary entitled Carmelo: Made in New York, which detailed his free agency and aired on MSG Network, according to ESPN.
Anthony opted to remain in the Big Apple on a five-year $124 million pact while the Bulls could have potentially offered him up to $74 million in a deal unless they executed a sign-and-trade.
Anthony, who had also drawn interest from the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks during the summer, said that it came down to the Knicks and Bulls.
"It came down to Chicago and New York. Chicago was the one that, from day one, was something that I was very impressed with. They was looking for a person like me to come in and just take them to the next level," Anthony said. "So it was perfect. It was a perfect setup, perfect fit for me in Chicago. But then also I had to think about just living in Chicago. Do I want to live in Chicago? Do I want to take everything that I created in New York and move all of that? It came down to that."
Anthony's agent also said that he flip-flopped between wanting to stay in New York and go to Chicago a lot before ultimately making his decision while Anthony also considered Los Angeles as an option.
Thus far, the Knicks are 4-15 and in fourth place in the Atlantic Division while being in the midst of a five-game losing streak. The Bulls, meanwhile, are 12-7 and sit in first place in the Central Division.
Anthony, though, doesn't regret his decision and doesn't look at New York as a bad team.
"The games that we're losing, you can't tell me that these teams are that much better than us," Anthony said Tuesday. "I really believe that."
The Knicks and Bulls go head-to-head on Dec. 18 at the United Center in Chicago.
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