Anthony set for free agency this summer, and interest is high.
New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony confirmed he has a small tear in his right labrum and will not play against the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.
The 30-year-old does not require surgery but having sat out the win over the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night, he will not feature against the Raptors in the season finale either.
With the Knicks missing out on the playoffs, Anthony is understood to be set to be re-evaluated in a month with coach Mike Woodson expecting him to be able to resume basketball activity in May.
“Obviously, he knew it was bothering him when he hurt it two weeks ago but he hung in with us trying to make this last push to get in the playoffs,” Woodson said.
Anthony recently revealed himself that he would not sit out games if the Knicks still had a chance of making the playoffs, but having missed out on the post-season he will not aggravate the injury further with Sunday’s win over the Chicago Bulls potentially his last game for the franchise.
Melo will likely have a number of suitors on the open market, although he has previously hinted that his priority is to stay with the Knicks who can offer him a five-year contract worth over $129m while if he were to sign with another team, the maximum they could offer would be $95m over four years.
The Bulls, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers are among the top group of teams that will pursue him this summer, but it remains to be seen whether or not he chooses to leave.
The All-Star forward was ranked second in the NBA in scoring with 27.4 points per game as he also finished the season averaging a career-high 8.1 rebounds per game, although it wasn’t enough to avoid missing out on the playoffs for the first time in his 11-year career.
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