It might be nothing more than a pipe dream, but Jimmy Butler would love to see Carmelo Anthony join him and Dwyane Wade as a member of the Chicago Bulls.
The Bulls shooting guard reached out to Melo recently to catch up but didn’t discuss a potential trade. However, that call might not be long coming.
“That is half the battle,’’ Butler said, when discussing making a player from another team feel welcomed (h/t Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times). “And I could still do that. I think everybody knows what Carmelo can bring to a team. The dude is a helluva player. “But I think that we have some things that we’ve got to worry about here first in the next few weeks [leading into the trade deadline], before we go down that road.’’
“You can talk to [Anthony] and tell him all this, all that, but as far as a trade and all that stuff goes, that’s for the front office because there’s only so much say [the players] can have in a deal like that,’’ Butler said. “There’s not too much I can do in that aspect.
Anthony most certainly isn’t feeling warm and fuzzy about his current squad.
The trade rumors that have been swirling the past few weeks have been almost oppressive, and despite assurances things are fine and dandy between the star player and Phil Jackson, we know there’s nothing good brewing on that front.
Furthermore, the dismal product on the floor Knicks fans have been seeing isn’t helping matters as it concerns his long-term future with the organization.
For his part, Cowley envisions a viable trade scenario between the Bulls and Knicks that could send Anthony to Chicago, the team that almost landed him in 2014.
“The Bulls can send Rajon Rondo, Taj Gibson and their first-round pick to the Knicks for Anthony. It would give Jackson another draft pick, an expiring contract in Gibson, and a veteran point guard for next season with Derrick Rose a free agent.”
Whether or not Anthony would agree to waive his no-trade clause, or if Chicago would make the move to acquire him, remains to be seen. One report recently suggests Jackson’s recent actions only further hardened Anthony’s heart against waiving the clause.
Regardless, the trade rumors won’t go away any time soon and will likely only ramp up as the February 23 trade deadline gets closer.