The New York Knicks wanted All-Star Carmelo Anthony to reconsider and expand his list of possible trade destinations, which currently includes the Houston Rockets and the Cleveland Cavaliers. According to Marc Berman of the New York Post, the Knicks temporarily halted trade talks with the Rockets involving Anthony to give acting team president Steve Mills time to meet with the superstar.
Berman said Mills wants to know where Anthony’s head is at before proceeding any further. The Knicks also want him to open up his wish list beyond the Rockets and the Cavaliers.
Anthony has a no-trade clause in his contract, giving him power to veto a trade to a team that he doesn’t prefer.
Anthony still hoping trade will push through
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com, Anthony remains confident that the Knicks will honor the franchise’s goal of rebuilding without him and work on a trade with the Rockets. In addition, Wojnarowski said league sources claimed that Anthony has "begun to prioritize a trade to the Rockets" over a possible move to the Cavaliers. With the Rockets, Anthony will be given a chance to play with close friend Chris Paul and last year’s MVP runner-up James Harden.
The Cavaliers are also interested in trading for Anthony but they lack the necessary pieces to work out a deal.
Earlier, it was reported that the Cavaliers plan to seal a direct deal with the Knicks by sending Kevin Love to New York for Anthony. The Rockets earlier offered Ryan Anderson to New York but the Knicks turned it down because they don’t want to be saddled by the power forward’s three-year, $61.2 million deal. To facilitate the deal, the Rockets got two more teams onboard.
Houston needs to get more teams involved because they lack tradable pieces to give the Knicks for Anthony. Also, they want another team to take Anderson’s contract.
Knicks halt negotiations with Rockets after hiring new GM
The Knicks recently halted their negotiations with the Rockets for Anthony after hiring Scott Perry as new general manager.
The move was seen as way to give Perry and Mills the chance to decide the team’s direction or possibly come up with a way to re-incorporate Anthony. The Knicks acquired Perry from the Kings, where he was recently hired as vice president of basketball operations. The Knicks will give the Kings a second-round pick and cash as compensation for Perry, whom they plan to sign to a five-year deal.
