Bulls Remain the Easy Favorite to Land Carmelo Anthony

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Until LeBron James announced he would opt out of his final two years of his lucrative contract with the Miami Heat, the New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony was widely considered the biggest free agent mark of the current offseason.

Though the interest in Melo’s offseason may have been temporarily diminished by the presence of LeBron, there is no question that Anthony is one of the most coveted free agent to ever hit the market in the NBA.

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Early this week the likely landing spots for Melo were updated by Las Vegas oddsmakers, and the Chicago Bulls remain the favorites, but the Heat jumped up in probability, considering they will likely have to account for the imminent loss of James.

All told, there are six contenders seemingly in the mix. Click over to Bovada via Betting Sports for updated odds as the situation progresses.

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Chicago Bulls: -250

With an implied probably of over 70 percent, Chicago’s Derrick Rose must already be contemplating a future with Carmelo Anthony.

Miami Heat: +300

Though it seemed like a long shot initially, now that it looks like LeBron James’ departure from Miami is imminent, Anthony could very well be in line to replace him. Melo’s odds of landing here have increased from a snowball’s chance in South Beach, to an implied probability of 25 percent.

The real question is will LeBron and Melo go somewhere together. It’s clear they have a friendly rapport and a healthy sense of competition with each other.

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Houston Rockets: +750

Is there room from in Houston for Dwight Howard and Carmelo Anthony? Perhaps, but I believe the Rockets are the most over-inflated possibility on this list with an implied probability of just under 12 percent.

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Los Angeles Lakers: +1500

Can Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony legitimately coexist on the same team? Probably not.

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Dallas Mavericks: +1500

Believe it or not, the Mavs are a serious dark horse contender in the ‘Melo sweepstakes. For years now Mark Cuban has been absolutely desperate to land a free agent of this caliber, and this is a man for whom money talks. Cuban and Anthony are lowest common denominator kinda guys—a pretty big thing to have in common during a free agent negotiation.

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Atlanta Hawks: +2000

Sorry, but this one is never going to happen.