Carmelo Anthony: Joining Knicks in 2011 influenced LeBron's decision
Carmelo Anthony said he thinks his 2011 move to the New York Knicks influenced LeBron James' decision to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, he told Michael Strahan in a Q&A between the two in Adweek.
Anthony signed a five-year, $124 million contract with the Knicks in July after originally returning to his hometown in a 2011 trade. Anthony was born in Red Hook, a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn.
James decided to sign with Cleveland this offseason after four trips to the NBA Finals with the Miami Heat.
Strahan: And watching LeBron [James] go back to Cleveland, did that affect your decision on staying in New York, and did you learn anything from watching LeBron go back home?
Anthony: No. Honestly, I think it was the other way around. I think he saw when I came back home to New York and saw the response and saw the reaction and saw how at peace I was when I came back home. ... I’m pretty sure he looked at that moment and saw that that was a very special moment, and he had the opportunity to go back home himself and regain that love.
In the Adweek article, Anthony and Strahan also discuss whether college athletes should be paid, their off-court business ventures and Anthony's offseason weight loss.
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