Melo Staying Put

After a free agency tour that took him all over the country, Carmelo Anthony is staying right where he is.

According to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, Carmelo is finalizing a deal with the New York Knicks for five years and over $120 million.

Anthony tested the free agency waters for the first time in his career, having meetings with the Houston Rockets, Chicago Bulls, and Los Angeles Lakers. Rumors swirled that this team or that team had been eliminated, then was back in the hunt, then was eliminated again, but in the end, Melo stayed put.

Anthony repeatedly said that, at this point in his career, winning was more important than money. In the end, however, he signed with the team that could offer him the most money, although Wojnarowski reports that he could still wind up taking less than the $129 million max contract available. It's possible Anthony sees Phil Jackson's vision and is on board with it. It's also possible he just followed the dollar signs after all.

There have been rumors that Carmelo could still be considering forcing a trade if things don't work out in New York. Jackson is trying to unload Amare Stoudemire and Andrea Bargnani, but even if he can't, those two massive contracts come off the books after this season. The Knicks could be primed to make a run at a big name free agent again in the summer of 2015.

For more on the Knicks, check out Posting and Toasting.