Melo Opts Out Of Deal

It was a move most people expected no one was really surprised when Melo finally made it. It was the kind of move that someone who still had a lot to prove always had to take: the winner-takes-it-all gamble.

For Melo, that means putting himself in a position to get what he truly wants. No, it isn't a championship. (although he does want that). No, it isn't money or endorsement deals or shoe lines or whatever else it is Lebron James has.

And the answer is: relevance. That is what Carmelo Anthony really wants.

Because, lest we forget, the real top two players in the 2003 draft were Lebron James and Carmelo Anthony. And, to many people, James' superiority as a player wasn't as clear cut as history might say it was.

In fact, Carmelo Anthony was the more proven of the two, helping Syracuse win their first ever national championship. Just look at some of Melo's highlights as a freshman and you can see just how special he was.

But James was the more complete package, with a ceiling that was absurdiculous, which catapulted him to the 1st overall pick. Needless to say, everyone expected that Melo vs Lebron would be the next great rivalry, similar to Magic vs Bird.

At the start, Melo seemed to have the upper hand, as he led the Nuggets from a 17-65 record from the year before to a 43-39 record and the 8th seed in the West. Since then, James and his various teams have caught up and overtaken Melo's teams and, what's worse, other players have positioned themselves as Lebron's chief rivals.

Nowadays, it is Kevin Durant who is seen as Lebron's almost-equal. And Melo is barely an afterthought. For a player who considered himself at least as good as Lebron, that has got to hurt.

And that's why Melo is playing this game. He needs his own Big Three, a trio that can take down Miami's core. He needs people to talk about him again, compare him to Lebron again. He needs to be relevant, to be current, to be the NBA's "It" boy...even if only for a while.