According to Adrian Wojnarowski, sources say that Carmelo Anthony would be willing to waive his no-trade clause for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Houston Rockets. The Knicks are not committed to signing older players. The team wants assets in return for Anthony since they are reluctant to pay for a buyout. Regardless, the Rockets and Cavaliers will have to find a third team to complete this trade. There are no takers for Kevin Love yet
The Knicks not interested in Kevin Love
The New York Knicks are not interested in paying the amount of money that is owed to Kevin Love over the next two years.
The Cavaliers would likely have to find a third team if they want to make the trade and move Love. To better their chances of signing Anthony if a buyout was secured, the Cavaliers were exploring a trade with the Rockets over Iman Shumpert to try and dump his $11 million salary. However, if the Rockets are in the hunt for Anthony, it seems unlikely that Houston would absorb Shumpert if they knew they had a chance at signing him.
Carmelo Anthony has said that he prefers Cleveland because of the presence of Lebron James. In Cleveland, Anthony could take on a role like he did when he was with the Olympic team in terms of not being the number one option. James and Kyrie Irving have proven that Cleveland is their team; therefore, he could slide in as the third scoring option.
He would add depth to a team that already has JR Smith and recently re-signed Kyle Korver.
Knicks don't want Anderson
Just like the Cavaliers, the Rockets are trying to pawn off an older player in a trade to get Anthony. Ryan Anderson is still owed nearly $60 million and is 29-years-old. In terms of financial flexibility, there is no way that the Rockets can keep Anderson and Anthony.
The only problem is that the Knicks do not want him.
Despite wanting to play with James, Anthony has said that playing with Chris Paul interests him as well. The Rockets made the blockbuster trade to acquire Paul last week to pair with MVP runner-up, James Harden. The Rockets are in win-now mode as they also re-signed 34-year old Nene to pair with the 32-year old Paul.
Even through all of this, the Rockets are strapped in terms of salary. The Rockets could shed future first round picks, or try to find a third team to help move the pieces.
Hayward's decision will impact offseason
Pay attention to what Gordan Hayward does this week. Let's say that Hayward decides to sign with the Utah Jazz or move to the Miami Heat. That would mean that Boston Celtics' team president Danny Ainge would have struck out on Hayward, Paul George, and Jimmy Butler. The Celtics still have a load of draft picks that are on the table. Love would not cost more than a couple of draft picks, so the Celtics could use their assets to acquire Love.
That leads us to his possible trade. The Cavaliers could send Kevin Love to the Celtics.
The Celtics could send a couple of first round picks to the Knicks. The Knicks could send Carmelo Anthony to the Cavaliers. The Celtics would keep Love for two more years, and acquire an all-star to pair with Isaiah Thomas and Al Horford for at least this season. Rocket fans would be upset, but it would help calm down Celtic fans if Hayward does not come to Boston.
