Carmelo Anthony is expected to re-sign with Knicks

Carmelo Anthony is prepared to spend the prime years of his career in New York, the Daily News has learned.

A person close to Anthony told The News on Wednesday that barring a last minute change of heart Anthony will re-sign with the Knicks after "agonizing over this" for the past week.

"He will have something for everybody on Thursday," said the friend who was with Anthony before Anthony's scheduled workout with Kevin Durant and Kevin Love in Los Angeles on Wednesday. "He is really torn because this is the biggest decision of his career. But he wants to get it done in New York. He told me he believes in Phil."

Players can begin signing free agent contracts on Thursday and the deal on the table from the Knicks is a max contract worth $129 million over five years. The Lakers have also offered Anthony a max deal over four years while the Chicago Bulls would have to orchestrate a sign-and-trade in order for Anthony to receive close to a max contract.

Anthony, who throughout the season was steadfast in saying that he wanted to remain in New York, was intrigued by moving west and joining Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles. He also believed that he would be joining a championship contender in Chicago.