Much has been made of Carmelo Anthony's gamble not to sign a three-year, $65 million extension with either the Nuggets or Nets.
 
It is one of the more interesting decisions we have seen in sports, in an era where players are so frequently focused on putting themselves into the best financial position possible.  Anthony seems committed to choosing his next team and will factor in championship opportunity, location and lifestyle.

But for the most part, the big gamble for Anthony only exists in the event of a catastrophic injury. Regardless of what happens with the CBA talks, there is simply no way Anthony will lose anything close to the $40 million figure being propagated.

People who cover the NBA, a league populated and run by attorneys, should know by now that the powers that be in the league office are focused on installing fair rules and a level playing field, a major pillar of which is based on a player’s seniority in the NBA.
 
So we’re to believe that Rudy Gay will make $18 million per season while Anthony makes $11 million even though Gay has three fewer years of NBA service than Anthony? 

It quite plainly will never happen.

The NBA would never abide by such an inequitable system that would ultimately be impossible to justify in any type of rational way. Again, the NBA is legalistic in its administration, which means it will not want anything to do with a punitive salary structure.

It has been somewhat shocking to read stories coming from longtime NBA reporters I greatly respect, who are suffering from myopia and expect the league to preside over a heavily imbalanced pay scale.

For the sake of argument, if the owners achieve all of their objectives against the players on salary reduction, it will be across the board and balanced. It will almost certainly apply retroactively to salary extensions signed previously.

Any other system would reward players like LeBron James and Chris Bosh, who gave their previous teams one less season so they could become free agents a year early, while leveling a harsh penalty against Anthony for having given the team that drafted him that extra year under contract. 

It sounds like a good scare tactic in the winter. But there’s no chance of it happening in the summer.

Without question, Anthony would prefer to sign the extension now, but he should rest comfortably in his reasons to wait.