With Carmelo Anthony's contact status beyond this season with the New York Knicks very much in question, the Knicks forward doesn't feel much need to supply any answers on his future at this current time.
Anthony has two years remaining on his current deal, but after this season he can choose to opt out of the final year of the pact, worth $23.3 million, and test the market but he's remained mum on what will happen beyond this season.
"I'm not going to go through the season thinking about my contract. There's really no need to at this point. There's no need to talk about it," Anthony told ESPN. "When that time comes, I'll deal with it. Until then, my focus is really on being here, being a Knick, doing what I have to do to, hopefully, win a championship."
Anthony led the league in scoring last season with an average of 28.7 points per game and led the Knicks to the team's first playoff series win in eight years before New York was eliminated by the Indiana Pacers in the second round. Rumors have circulated that if Anthony and New York don't get past the second round again this season, he could be heading elsewhere this offseason.
Judging by his success in the NBA, Anthony would probably have many suitors.
One possible destination that ESPN reported over the summer that Anthony could end up is Los Angeles to play with the Lakers, but Anthony has remained tight-lipped on the subject. The Lakers were also a potential landing spot for LeBron James of the Miami Heat if he decides to opt out of his contract, but reports lately indicate that they could be a long-shot or James.
There is also the possibility that Anthony could choose to opt out of his contract and then sign a bigger deal to stay with the Knicks but make more money. The Knicks can begin negotiating with Anthony in February, and team president and general manager Steve Mills says the team has every intention to hang on to Anthony.
"The things that he has done to make this team successful and to represent this city is something that's very important," Mills said per ESPN. "While it is premature in the process, we have made it very clear we have every intention of making Carmelo a Knick for a long time to come."
If Anthony chooses to remain in New York beyond 2013-14, he'll continue to play under head coach Mike Woodson after the team picked up its option on Woodson for 2014-15. When Anthony was asked what else the Knicks need to do to keep him in New York, he didn't reveal any future plans.
"I think that's a different conversation for a different time for different people," Anthony said, according to ESPN. "Right now I feel there's no need to even talk about that or address that because it's not something I've been thinking about."
Anthony, 29, first came to New York in a trade in 2011 and was instrumental in leading the team to a successful campaign in 2012-13 by leading the league in average points per game. The Knicks finished first in the Atlantic Division last year and second overall in the Eastern Conference with a 54-28 record en route to topping the Boston Celtics in six games before falling to the Pacers in six games in the second round.
Anthony is a six-time NBA All-Star, but the only accolade he wants is a championship ring, though he wouldn't elaborate if that's the only thing that will keep him in an orange and blue uniform.
"I'm not going to put that pressure on myself or our guys to say that it's championship or bust," Anthony said via ESPN. "I don't want to put a cap on what's a successful season or what's a failure [of a] season for us."
So while the world around him continues to talk about the impending possibility of his future in New York being limited to just this year, Anthony is staying silent.
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