The 2014 NBA Free Agency Rumors & Predictions are narrowing down as each free agent signs with a team. The big names are still pondering their decision though. Carmelo Anthony is reportedly down to three teams. The third team is a quite a shocker.

Apparently, it’s down to the New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Hearing the Lakers made a MAJOR impact on Melo this week - it's now a legit 3-way battle between LA/Chi/NYK to land him. Crazy NBA weekend.

— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) July 5, 2014

@BillSimmons yep! — Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) July 5, 2014

The last choice is a bit of a shocker. While the Lakers may be able to offer the max contract, they do not have any players in their roster aside from Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Robert Sacre. If Carmelo signs the max deal, there will only be loose change left in the salary cap to fill the roster.
But still, the argument is that it’s the Lakers.
It’s quite a surprise how the Lakers would beat out the Texas teams, but the choices can be described as the team which can offer the most money (Knicks), the team with the best chance to win (Bulls) and the team with the most to offer off-court (Lakers).
These off-court benefits were part of the package they sold to Carmelo. Hollywood producer/director Joel Silver.

From Fansided:
“Executives from Anschutz Entertainment Group and Time Warner Cable pitched him on the size and scope of the Los Angeles market. Movie producer Joel Silver put together a four-minute “trailer” of Anthony’s life, narrated by Tobey Maguire.
…Silver, who produced “The Matrix,” “Lethal Weapon” and “Die Hard” movies, was also in attendance Thursday and spoke about the long-running relationship between the Lakers and Hollywood.”

So the Lakers flaunted their wealth..and there was a lot of that. Zach Lowe of Grantland released details from a memo from the NBA, listing the net profits of the NBA teams. Despite missing the playoffs and getting only six games from their superstar Kobe Bryant, the Lakers are a lofty no.1 with $ 100 million in profits:

“Holy cow, the Lakers! They end up with that huge profit despite contributing a league-high $49 million to revenue sharing. The league’s revenue sharing is complex, with payouts and contributions tied to all sorts of variables — market size, profitability, earnings benchmarks, and other stuff. A few teams, including the Lakers and Knicks, play in markets so large they are disqualified from ever receiving revenue-sharing payouts.”

Carmelo Anthony is expected to make his decision on Monday according to USA Today:

"A decision is expected from Anthony by Monday, though the ever-present fluidity of free agency means there is no definitive timeline.