The New York Knicks are not going to give star forward Carmelo Anthony away in a bad trade. That much is already known. It’s well over a month since the start of free agency and there’s been no real traction created on the Anthony’ trade front.
By now, we already know that Anthony prefers to join James Harden and Chris Paul with the Houston Rockets. It’s even at the point he’s taken the Cleveland Cavaliers off his wish list (more on that here).
Now, it looks like the Knicks themselves have asked Anthony to expand said wish list.
“According to the source, the Knicks are still hopeful Anthony eventually will expand his wish list beyond the Rockets — with the Trail Blazers, Cavaliers, Thunder and Pelicans holding interest,” Marc Berman of the NY Post reports. “The source said the Knicks brass has told Anthony he needs to do so because they are unwilling to make a “bad trade” — and he seemed to understand the team’s position.”
Both the Oklahoma City Thunder and New Orleans Pelicans have been linked to Anthony in recent weeks. Meanwhile, at least one Portland Trail Blazers player has made a pitch for him to join the up-and-coming team in the Pacific Northwest (more on that here).
It remains to be seen if a deal can be worked out that would satisfy the three parties involved. That includes Anthony himself, who has a no-trade clause.
Houston has obviously been linked to Anthony the most. But after the team dealt a plethora of assets to the Los Angeles Clippers for Chris Paul, it doesn’t have a whole lot to offer the Knicks. In turn, New York has pushed back on the idea of taking on Ryan Anderson’s inflated contract to make a deal work.
The closer we get to NBA training camps, the less likely Anthony himself will be moved. We simply don’t see trades of this ilk conducted late in the summer.