Carmelo To Chicago Bulls: Championship Seems To Be Melo's Focus

Carmelo Anthony made it official today; he has officially opted out of the $23.3M final year of his contract with the New York Knicks, and he will be an unrestricted free-agent when the free agent signing period opens July 1st.

Carmelo Anthony officially opted out of the $23.3M final year of his New York Knicks contract today.

With the move, speculation that Chicago is the best and most likely landing spot for Melo is once again resonating all over the sporting world. The move would change the NBA landscape and make the Chicago Bulls the favorite to win the Eastern Conference.

And in lieu of the complete domination of the Miami Heat at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs, the off-season holds several questions for the Miami Big 3 and the franchise moving forward.

The stability of the Chicago Bulls, adding only Melo (and possibly the Spanish League MVP, Mirotic), would probably be strong favorites over the Miami Heat, even as they are currently constructed due to disappearance of Chris Bosh on the NBA Finals stage and the clear decline of Dwayne Wade. Shane Battier has already stated that he will retire from the NBA this summer, and Ray Allen has been considering retirement as well.

Chicago is coming off of a strong season despite the early loss of Derrick Rose to knee injury and the trade of Luol Deng to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Fueled by the best defense in the NBA, Chicago grabbed the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference with an unlikely post-All-Star Game run that was among the best in the NBA. Joakim Noah was awarded the Defensive Player of the Year honors, and Noah and Jimmy Butler were named to the All-Defensive Team.

The Bulls run was finally ended in the opening round of the NBA Playoffs by the high-powered Washington Wizards. Chicago was exposed for their inability to generate consistantly on the offensive end when they needed to.

Many consider Carmelo Anthony to be the missing piece to a Chicago Bulls NBA Championship team. His dominance on the offensive end of the floor balances and complements the Chicago Bulls' dominant defense.

It is clear that in deciding to opt out of his current contract, Melo has considered the possibility of his being the missing piece to a Chicago Bulls NBA Championship, having made Chicago one of his top free agent destinations.

With time, we will have a chance to see if all those minds were right about Melo in Chicago, when he models his first NBA Championship ring.

Do you think Carmelo Anthony is the missing piece to a Chicago Bulls NBA Championship? Tell us what you think in the comments below!