On Monday, Carmelo Anthony officially exercised his Early Termination Option to become an unrestricted costless agent for the summer. Many believe that he will leave the New York Knicks and sign elsewhere. The Houston Rockets, the Chicago Bulls, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Dallas Mavericks, and the Miami Heat are all interested in the seven-time All-star. The Knicks are interested in bringing him back as well. The question is which team will Carmelo Anthony choose and which team would be the best fit for him?

New York Knicks:

The New York Knicks can give Anthony the longest and highest paying contract. They can offer him five-years, $130 million. That’s a lot of money, but the Knicks have limited talent on their roster. The Knicks do not have cap space this off-season to sign quality players to surround Anthony. Amar’e Stoudemire and Andrea Bargnani are eating up most of their salary and won’t be costless agents until the summer of 2015. That’s when New York will have financial flexibility to pursue superstars. However, Anthony is uninterested in waiting another year. He wants to be on a contending team right now.

Houston Rockets:

The Houston Rockets will have to use a sign-and-trade to acquire Carmelo. Their plan is to team up Anthony with superstars James Harden and Dwight Howard even if they have to lose Chandler Parsons. That sounds like a frightening team on paper, but would they be a good fit? That’s the problem. James Harden and Carmelo Anthony would both want an X amount of shot attempts. They both like having the ball in their hands, meaning one of them would have to learn how to play off the ball. That would be a tough task for both players. It would be asking too much for either one to change their style of play. Meanwhile, Howard is going to demand the ball in the paint and would be disgruntled if he doesn’t see his touches.

Bottom line, it’s not all about having talent on a roster. It’s about fitting in that talent and making it work, but a trio of Harden, Anthony, and Howard seems unlikely to work. The floor spacing would be poor and egos may flare due to uneven distribution.

Miami Heat:

With the Miami Heat, Carmelo Anthony would definitely have to take a huge pay cut to play with the big three. This is another team where Anthony would have to change up his game and accept a new role as a spot up shooter. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade do most of the ball handling for the Heat. That means Anthony would rarely get the opportunity to run the offense.

With four superstars, the Heat would have a lot of mouths to feed on offense. That usually results into inconsistency and inadequate spacing and balance. The big three of the Heat have built a winning foundation in Miami with their unselfish play and excellent team chemistry. Carmelo Anthony is good friends with James, Wade, and Bosh off the court as he was selected in the same draft class as them, but he may not be a suitable fit on the court. The Heat would certainly look dangerous on paper with a collection of superstars but just like the Rockets, it may be difficult to translate that on the basketball floor.

Los Angeles Lakers:

The Los Angeles Lakers would have the cap space to offer Carmelo Anthony a four-year, $96 million deal. However, the Lakers just came off one of their worst seasons in franchise history, and their superstar Kobe Bryant is still recovering from a serious knee injury. The roster that the Lakers have would not fascinate Melo very much.

Further, would Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony co-exist? They both endure the same style of play. They both like to isolate and dominate the ball. One of them would be asked to play off the ball. Would it be the 35-year old Kobe Bryant? Not a chance. No matter how old Kobe is and how many injuries he has suffered, he will not change his game for anyone. He is a five-time champion and a future hall of famer. He will ask Anthony to be the one to alter his game. Again, Carmelo Anthony would have to adjust to a role he is not accustomed to playing in.

Chicago Bulls:

The Chicago Bulls are another team that would have to pull off a sign-and-trade for Carmelo. It would most likely involve Carlos Boozer’s expiring contract and one of their draft picks. The Knicks may get greedy and ask for Jimmy Butler as well. Anyhow, the Bulls have an injured superstar who is currently recovering from a knee injury also. This is Derrick Rose’s second major knee injury, and his performance may take a hit, indicating that Carmelo Anthony could be a number one option on the team offensively. The downside is that if Rose is capable of playing at a high level, then Anthony may have to consider taking a step back to allow Derrick Rose to take control of the offense. After all, Rose is a point guard, and he would want to handle the ball for the most part.

On the other hand, Anthony graciously respects Tom Thibodeau and his emphasis on defense. He wants to play for a coach with a defensive system. That certainly gives the Bulls the edge in the Carmelo Anthony sweepstakes. They are definitely frontrunners, but there may still be issues with meshing Anthony with another superstar.

Dallas Mavericks:

The Dallas Mavericks have the cap space to not only sign Carmelo Anthony to a max deal, but to construct a roster that would be a terrific fit for him. Dirk Nowitzki is a costless agent who will most likely sign a similar contract to that of Tim Duncan. Aside from possibly signing Anthony, Dallas can sign Pau Gasol, who they plan to pursue. Adding Gasol and Anthony to the roster could put Dallas back into title contention.

With the Mavericks, Anthony would have the costlessdom to take up 20 plus shots. He will be playing alongside unselfish players. Nowitzki, 36, would not mind taking a back seat to Anthony. Monta Ellis proved this past season that he, too, can limit his shot attempts and allow his teammates to costlessly run the offense. If Pau Gasol joins, he is another high I.Q., savvy, unselfish veteran. He would not mind reducing his touches. Rick Carlisle is a remarkable coach who accentuates team basketball. In addition, the Mavericks own the bird rights to Vince Carter, Shawn Marion, DeJuan Blair and Devin Harris. They will be able to retain them for cheap to fill out their bench.

The Chicago Bulls may be runner ups for Carmelo Anthony, but the Dallas Mavericks may be the best fit for the superstar. He wouldn’t have to adjust his game at all and would have an exceptional supporting cast in Dallas. Building super teams are always tempting, but team chemistry and fluidity are far more important.

This will be one entertaining off-season.