Posted on July 9, 2017, by Travis Pulver
The NBA offseason has been jam-packed with great stories with players being traded, big trades, and even bigger contracts. One ongoing story that does not appear to have an end in sight yet has been what the future holds for Carmelo Anthony in New York. He butted heads often with Phil Jackson, but Jackson is gone.
Rumor has it, the team wants to move on from him and his drama, but there is that pesky no-trade clause in his contract. Buying him out is an option, but not one the team likes. Who wants to pay someone millions of dollars to go away?
Via @nurudeen66
He initially refused to waive his no-trade clause. But Antony has since backed off that stance and said he would in order to join the Cleveland Cavaliers or Houston Rockets.
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His addition could be the difference for the Cavaliers. That is, as long as they don’t have to give up anyone too important to get him. Houston has already added Chris Paul via a mega-trade with the Los Angeles Clippers. Anthony could be the final piece of the Rockets puzzle as well.
Okay! Make them an offer and let’s make it happen! It’s that easy, right? Not exactly.
While he may be an overpriced, PR-headache, Anthony is still a legitimate scoring threat (22.4 points/game last season) capable of playing at a high level. He will make whoever he plays for next season a better team than they were last season.
So, if the Knicks can unload him, they want to get something of comparable value in return. That is where the possibility of a trade is running into problems. The Cavaliers and Rockets are both open to trading for Anthony. But they have yet to make an offer the Knicks can seriously entertain.
According to Sam Amico at Amico Hoops:
As for the Cavs, they have talked to the Knicks about Anthony by floating the promise of Turkish draft-and-stash swingman Cedi Osman in return (along with several veterans off the bench, who the Knicks seemingly do not want).
It sounds like the Cavaliers are willing to give up anyone that doesn’t matter. But not anyone that does—like Kevin Love (at least, not yet). But the Cavs may still be in luck because Houston isn’t offering anything better. They’ve been trying to dangle Ryan Anderson.
But if the Knicks are going to ditch one high-priced contract, chances are they don’t want to take on another. Anderson is due about $61 million over the next three seasons.
Via @sportingnews
Training camp is still a long way away, so no one needs to blink just yet. Houston and Cleveland are probably counting on the Knicks giving in and offering Anthony a buyout. Rumor has it the Knicks don’t see a scenario that has Anthony taking in the court in a Knicks uniform next season.
A buyout would let him choose where he wants to go. But it would also mean whoever he rejects would need a Plan B.