Carmelo Anthony will reportedly waive his no-trade clause for two contenders only – the Cleveland Cavaliers and Houston Rockets.
The Cavaliers have been believed to be the frontrunner to land the 10-time All-Star but don’t have the assets to entice the New York Knicks. Meanwhile, the Rockets are trying to include Ryan Anderson in the deal for Anthony, but the Knicks have been reluctant to take him.
However, the Rockets have been trying to engage a third team to help facilitate the trade, and its been reported that the Portland Trail Blazers may be the third party involved.
In the reports, it’s mentioned that Moe Harkless and Meyers Leonard could be included from Portland’s side.
Anthony believes he will get traded to the West
While the talks have not gained momentum just yet, Anthony is confident that he will end up with the Rockets via trade. “I’m told Carmelo feels pretty confident that a deal will get done at this point to Houston,” Ian Begley of ESPN said.
After pairing James Harden and Chris Paul, the Rockets are shaping up to be a powerhouse team, which has attracted Anthony. The possibility of creating a big three in Houston with a younger Harden and a terrific leader in Paul has convinced Anthony that he could be the third star on that team.
Where does this leave the Cavaliers?
There must be something strange going on when players are passing up the opportunity to team-up with LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and the Cavaliers. Perhaps James’ notion to leave Cleveland in 2018 has deterred free agents from signing and other players from wanting to get traded there. Since its being widely believed that James would leave the Cavaliers to join the Los Angeles Lakers, players don’t want to go to Cleveland knowing that James could ditch them.
The Cavaliers’ offseason has consisted of the signings of Jeff Green and Jose Calderon, while also re-signing their own free agent Kyle Korver. Those moves don’t exactly put them over the top to beat the Golden State Warriors. Meanwhile, the Rockets, if they land Anthony, believe they could legitimately challenge Golden State.
Who would Houston have to give up to acquire Anthony?
As mentioned above, a third team may be needed to complete the trade and Anderson would have to be included. The Rockets may also have to lose Trevor Ariza, a player that may go to New York in the deal. A trade may not happen anytime soon, however. It may take another month before we find out Anthony’s fate.
