New York Knicks fans can let out a relatively large sigh of relief because, while they are not locked in to retain Carmelo Anthony, the star forward will probably not help create a "big four" in Miami.

According to ESPN, Anthony has a player option for $23.3 million that would extend his stay in New York through next season. He has until June 23 to decide whether or not to pick up that option and the Knicks' leadership have not been subtle about what they want Anthony to do.

Unnamed sources have told ESPN Phil Jackson, recently named the Knicks' president, has reportedly pitched more than once the idea that the team will spend big on a free agent to accompany Anthony. Jackson said the Knicks will have the money to spend to re-sign Anthony and bring in someone else in the summer of 2015.

Both Anthony and fellow 2003 draftee LeBron James could pick up player options to stave off free agency one more year. The sources said Jackson had told Anthony the team could pursue James if he is a free agent next summer.

ESPN's Stephen A. Smith said James and Anthony, team USA teammates, are both interested in playing together and New York seems to make a lot more sense than Miami. James' current teammates Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh can also opt for free agency, but it is all but impossible that all four will play for the same team.

SB Nation's Mike Prada fully explored how Anthony, James, Bosh and Wade could all fit on the Miami Heat (read it HERE). It is not impossible, but it boils down to this:

"The Heat [would have] one of the more hilarious cap sheets in the league: four players making a lot of money (even still), one making 60 percent of the average salary and eight making the least they possibly can," Prada wrote.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst indicated in a 5-on-5 piece that he "cannot fathom the pay cuts it would require" to sign all four players. In the same piece Ethan Sherwood Strauss said Anthony does not even address Miami's needs.

The New York Daily News reported Anthony will opt out of his contract ahead of the June 23 deadline, "barring a dramatic change of heart." It probably will not be so the All-Star forward can be courted to take a huge pay cut to play for the Heat, as the Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks also have money and a need for Anthony's services.