Carmelo Anthony, the New York Knicks current star forward, is believed to be heading to Houston Rockets. The two teams have reportedly talked about the possible deal and they are inching closer to making it happen per insiders aware of the talks.
League sourced claimed that New York Knicks and Houston Rockets are also talking with two more teams to make the deal work, Bleacher Report said. Accordingly, New York Knicks want to let Anthony go because they want to build a roster with younger players, who are 25 years old or younger. Anthony does not fit that age bracket as he is already 33.
The Knicks want to make a four-team trade in order to acquire as many young players as possible.
Who are the two other teams
It is believed that Brooklyn Nets is one of the two teams involved in the four-team trade in order to move Anthony to the Houston Rockets. The other team has not been named and Brooklyn Nets did not confirm the rumor yet.
ESPN claimed that a fourth team was needed because they wanted to move a particular player contract and neither the New York Knicks nor the Houston Rockets were willing to accept the move. Also, the four-team deal is needed because of the salary of Anthony. He has two more years on his contract worth $54 million.
Another issue is reportedly Ryan Anderson.
He is 29 years old and New York Knicks do not want a player older than 25. Houston prefers to trade Anderson that is why they need to more teams in order to satisfy Knicks’ pursuit of having a younger roster.
Why Anthony wants to play for Houston Rockets
Other sources said that Cleveland Cavaliers is thrown in the possible four-team trade.
Accordingly, Anthony is only willing to waive his no-trade clause if he joins Houston Rockets or Cleveland Cavaliers. Anthony is willing to play for the Houston Rockets after Chris Paul, his close friend was acquired by the team. James Harden’s six-year contract extension was also a major reason for Anthony to want to play for Rockets.
Anthony averaged 25 points per game last season. He has been playing for the New York Knicks for the past seven seasons. He also played for the Denver Nuggets in the past.
The deal put on hold?
ESPN also reported that the talks about the possible deal have been put on hold as Knicks might just keep Anthony. Accordingly, Scott Perry taking over Knicks as their new general manager influenced officials of the NBA team to stop their trade talks first. However, other sources said that Anthony might not want to put the trade talks on hold as he no longer wants to stay with Knicks since they publicly announced that they are looking for a new home for the player.
These reports are yet to be confirmed.
