NBA: Knicks' Carmelo Anthony Won't Talk 2014 Free Agency But Wants To Return To New York

With free agency looming for Carmelo Anthony, the New York Knick forward has reassured fans he will likely resign with the franchise despite the fact he will not publicly address his contract situation once the season starts October 29th.

"I'm just not going to do it,'' said Carmelo Anthony to reporters at a fundraiser commemorating the 658 Cantor Fitzgerald employees who died in the World Trade Center attacks. "I'm going to let everybody know the first day that I'm not going to talk about it. Hopefully you guys and your colleagues respect that, and that's it.''

Anthony is one of the marquee players - which includes the Miami Heat's LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant - who will hit the free agency market in 2014. With the Knicks clearing up a huge chunk of cap room in the near future - with Andrea Bargnani's, Amar'e Stoudemire's, and Tyson Chandler's expiring contracts coming off the books this upcoming summer - the Knicks will not only have the economic flexibility to re-sign Anthony but build a team around him that fits best with his skill-sets as well as attract other superstar-caliber free agents to play along with their All-Star forward.

Since arriving to New York, in a trade with the Denver Nuggets, Anthony has turned the Knicks' franchise around, including a 54-win season last year that earned them the second seed in postseason, their first Atlantic Division title in 19 years, and a run into the playoffs that ended when the Indiana Pacers eliminated them in the second round.

Anthony has thrived under the spotlight and welcomes the demands - from both fans and the media - that come with playing in the biggest media market in the country.

"That is one of the reasons why I wanted to come here to New York, just so I could take on those pressures and those challenges," said Anthony at the Bloomberg Sports Business Summit. "A lot of people do not like to deal with the pressure. A lot of people do not know how to deal with the challenges they face. To me, it is everyday life."

Anthony believes that the Knicks' newest additions to the team - Bargnani (who came to the team via a trade with the Toronto Raptors), former Los Angeles Laker Metta World Peace, and free agent acquisition Beno Udrih - can help the team advance further into the playoffs compared to last season's squad.

"I actually see this team being better than last year,'' said Anthony. "That's just my opinion, that's the way that we feel. And if we feel that way as a unit, then there's nothing that can come between us.''