<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The first player of the offseason to make a verbal commitment on signing a new contract is Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony. The Nuggets formally offered Anthony a five-year maximum contract extension worth an estimated $80 million on Saturday morning and Anthony didn't hesitate to accept. "We've informed the Nuggets that we intend to sign on July 12," Calvin Andrews, Anthony's agent, told ESPN.com. "Carmelo is very, very grateful for the commitment [owner Stan Kroenke] has made to him. "Carmelo's fondness for the city of Denver, his relationship with the organization ... the thought of going elsewhere never entered his thinking." Teams were allowed to extend offers to free agents as of 12:01 a.m. ET Saturday morning, but deals can't advance past the stage of verbal agreement until July 12. That's the day when the NBA is scheduled to announce the new salary cap for the 2006-07 season, clearing teams to make signings and trades official. Anthony is expected to formally sign with the Nuggets at a July 12 news conference. He'll earn $4.7 million next season in the final year of his rookie contract before the extension kicks in the 2007-08 season, with the exact amount of the extension to be determined when the salary cap is established for that season. The 22-year-old has averaged 22.8 points per game in his first three seasons, leading the Nuggets to playoffs in all three, and averaged 26.5 points last season to rank eighth in the league in scoring. The other top players from Anthony's draft class -- Cleveland's LeBron James, Toronto's Chris Bosh and NBA Finals MVP Dwyane Wade of Miami -- were offered similar extensions in the early hours of Saturday and are also expected to sign their extensions this month.</div> Source
That's great to hear. It is important that the Nuggets keep him. He will continue to bring success to them.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting NbaBaller:</div><div class="quote_post">That's great to hear. It is important that the Nuggets keep him. He will continue to bring success to them.</div> Agreed.
HAD to be done. way to lock up a franchise player for 5 years. BTW is 5 years the max now? that seems a little short.
