DENVER, Colorado, July 1, 2006 - Carmelo Anthony has accpeted a maximum National Basketball Association contract extension worth nearly 80 million dollars from the Denver Nuggets, the Rocky Mountain News reported Saturday.
It is a dream come true to be given a max contract,'' Anthony said of the five-year deal in a statement to the newspaper. The feeling is incredible, and my motivation is at an all-time high.’’
Anthony, who has yet to make an All-Star team or win a playoff series, has nonetheless emerged as one of the top scorers in the NBA. He raised his average nearly six points to 26.5 last season, good for eighth in the league.
The 22-year-old still has one year left on his rookie contract. The extension begins with the 2007-08 season and its precise value will be established next summer by the salary cap.
However, it is expected to start at 13 million dollars and be worth roughly 79 million dollars.
The report said Anthony could have an opt-out clause after the 2010-11 season but that has not yet been determined. Anthony can officially sign the deal July 12.
A member of the 2006 All-NBA third team, Anthony has averaged 22.8 points and 5.6 rebounds in three seasons with the Nuggets, who drafted him third overall in 2003.
Anthony has led the Nuggets to the postseason in each of the last three years, but the team has lost in the first round each time.
I want to take on a greater leadership role with this team and my goal remains to win the Nuggets fans a championship,'' Anthony said. I look forward to being in Denver for a long time.’’
Does anyone notice how Melo was not even an all-star, yet made 3rd team All-NBA?
And Kevin Garnett was once again the most efficient player in the league, and thus the most all-around, not to mention his all-around defense, and he was #1 in rebounding, yet he didn’t make 1st-3rd team All-NBA.
Ridiculous. It’s a shame that people still put so much value on the PPG category without hesitation.
MIAMI, Florida, July 4 AFP - Dwyane Wade, the most valuable player of the 2006 NBA finals, has reached an agreement on a five-year extension worth over $US80 million with league champions Miami Heat.
Wade, who led the Heat to their first National Basketball Association title last month, is expected to sign the deal on July 12, the first day that teams can sign free agents and finalise contract extensions, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported today.
``We’re on the same page,’’ Wade’s agent Henry Thomas said.
The precise value of the deal will not be known until next year since it will be connected to the 2007-08 salary cap.
Wade, who averaged 34.7 points and 7.8 rebounds as the Heat claimed the championship in six games over the Dallas Mavericks, already is under contract for the next season, making $US3.8 million under his rookie deal from 2003.
Without the extension, the 24-year-old Wade would become a free agent following the 2007-08 season.
However, Miami do not appear to want that to happen as they pitched an extension offer about two weeks after the conclusion of the season.
The fifth overall pick in 2003, Wade averaged a career-best 27.2 points and 6.7 assists in 75 games during his third regular season.
The guard raised his level in the postseason, pushing his scoring output to 28.4 points on 49.7 per cent shooting.