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Carmelo Anthony Says Family Will Be Factor In Free Agency

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Carmelo Anthony won't just be taking his career into consideration in free agency.

The superstar forward, who has opted out of his contract with the New York Knicks, says his family's needs will come into play, too.

"The average person just sees the opportunity to say, 'Melo should go here, Melo should go there,' " Anthony said in a video interview with VICE Sports. "But they don't take into consideration the family aspect of it, your livelihood, where you're going to be living. Do you want your kids to grow up in that place? Do I want to spend the rest of my career in that situation, in that city?"

Anthony spoke of his son, Kiyan, and the challenges of transitioning to a new city.

"My son goes to school and loves it here (in New York). To take him out and take him somewhere else, he would have to learn that system all over again," he said. "I know how hard it was for me when I moved from New York to Baltimore at a young age, having to work your way to try to make new friends and fit in and figure out the culture in that area."

Carmelo Anthony on Free Agency by VICE Sports on YouTube

The interview was taped on June 3 and published on Monday, after it was reported Anthony would officially opt out of his contract.

His agent confirmed the move, saying in a statement that Anthony "loves being a Knick" but is headed for free agency because he wants to explore his options.

Anthony had a Monday deadline to terminate the final year of his contract and had already informed the team he would do so. He will be able to negotiate with teams starting July 1.

"Carmelo loves being a Knick, he loves the city and the fans," Leon Rose said. "At this stage of his career he just wants to explore his options."

The best one financially would be to return to New York, which can offer him an extra year and around $25 million more than any team under NBA rules.

But Anthony has said his priority at this stage of his career is to contend for championships, and the Knicks are coming off a 37-45 season and have little ability to upgrade the roster this summer because of salary cap rules.

Teams such as Chicago, Houston, Dallas and Miami have all been mentioned as teams that could be interested in the All-Star forward, and all are playoff teams with established stars already on the roster.

Anthony would have earned $23.3 million next season had he chose to play out the final year of his deal. Knicks president Phil Jackson had told Anthony it may be a good idea to consider that, but Anthony had repeatedly said his preference was to become a free agent this summer, and he reiterated that to Jackson, general manager Steve Mills and new coach Derek Fisher during a recent meeting in Los Angeles.

Anthony averaged 27.4 points and 8.1 rebounds last season. Both Jackson and Fisher have said they hope the two-time Olympic gold medalist stays, but will be prepared if he doesn't.

"I'm not losing sleep over it, but I'm definitely concerned about the idea of a guy going into free agency. It only takes one bidder out there that has the ability and can ruin your hopes and your chances," Jackson said recently.

"We will survive it. That's what I've said and we'll go forward. But this is a guy we recognize his talent and his skill is the kind of skill and talent that gets you through playoff games where things get sticky, grind out and basketball becomes a force game and suddenly you need to have a player who has the capabilities of scoring with someone hanging on them in a situation that's critical. He's one of those players, one of the few players who can do that."

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(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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