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Webber: Carmelo shouldn't go to Bulls

As Carmelo Anthony prepares to decide on his NBA future in the next few weeks, Chris Webber says there's one team the New York Knicks star should cross off his list.

"If I'm Melo, I'm definitely not going to Chicago," Webber, a former NBA star and current TV analyst, said Wednesday on "The Herd with Colin Cowherd" on ESPN Radio. "That's just not the place to go. When D-Rose was healthy, they had terrible offense. [Coach Tom] Thibodeau is a great, great coach, but offensively you have to have an offensive-minded coach as well, someone who can adapt like a [Spurs coach Gregg] Popovich, who uses talent and not just harps on them that we're going to play hard every night. Everybody can play hard every night, but can you play with the IQ, can you play with smarts every night?"

Anthony has maintained that he plans to opt out of the final year of his contract and test free agency this summer. According to sources, Anthony has until Monday to tell the Knicks whether he plans to opt out.

New Knicks president Phil Jackson has said he'd like Anthony to opt in to the final year of his deal and become a free agent next summer. Free agency begins July 1.

The Bulls, Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks are all teams Anthony would consider in free agency, sources told ESPN.com's Marc Stein.

Webber thinks the Rockets are the sleeper in the Melo sweepstakes.

"If I'm Melo, and not just because his coach is my friend, I'm going to Houston," Webber said. "Dwight Howard doesn't want to be the No. 1. Everbody is on him, right? So now I have a better [Dikembe] Mutombo ... and he can score, so we don't need him to score. Second, I have [James] Harden. Harden averaged 25 points last year but seems to maybe disappear in the fourth quarter, especially in the playoffs. So now I have Melo who can go to that team, I can keep [Chandler] Parsons and trade [Omer] Asik and I can trade [Jeremy] Lin hopefully. If I can trade both of them and then keep Parsons, who is going to be the sixth man of the year coming off the bench.

"One thing about Melo's game that people don't appreciate: He's the best, in my opinion, bar none, catch-and-shoot guy in the league. Now, does he overdribble? He's probably the most overdribbling guy in the league, but if he has someone who can just pass and get him wide-open jump shots, I think that his whole game would change and he'd be known maybe for winning."

Anthony can make the most money ($129 million over five years) if he re-signs with the Knicks. If he signs with another team, Anthony can sign a maximum contract of $96 million over four years.

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