After the New York Knicks formally acquired Tim Hardaway Jr., they again revived trade talks with the Houston Rockets involving Carmelo Anthony. The Rockets and the Knicks earlier discussed a possible trade but New York rejected Houston’s offer of Ryan Anderson. However, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN said the Knicks now have a "renewed willingness" to make a deal after acquiring Hardaway Jr., based on claims by league sources.
The Rockets have been aggressive in pursuing Anthony to pair him with Chris Paul and James Harden. Earlier, Anthony expressed willingness to waive his no-trade clause if he’s traded to either the Rockets or the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Anthony has expressed interest in playing with either Paul or LeBron James of the Cavaliers at some point in his career.
Ryan Anderson for Anthony rejected
The Rockets initially offered Anderson for Carmelo Anthony but the Knicks rejected it as the Houston forward still has $61.3 million and three years remaining on his contract. In addition, the Knicks are worried that Anderson might take away some touches from Kristaps Porzingis, who is also an outside shooter. According to Spotrac, the Rockets are about $14.5 million over the cap while Anthony is scheduled to make $26.2 million next season so a trade between two players with almost identical salaries is a must.
With the development, the Rockets need to assemble a trade package that is attractive to the Knicks and will suit their salary cap need at the same time.
The Cavaliers, for their part, are reportedly willing to trade power forward Kevin Love for Anthony. According to Jack Maloney of CBS Sports, the Cavaliers can also dangle the contracts of Iman Shumpert and Channing Frye to the Knicks for Anthony.
Knicks get Hardaway Jr. from Hawks
With Hardaway’s arrival, Carmelo Anthony became dispensable because they play the same position.
League sources told ESPN that the Knicks cannot imagine a scenario where Hardaway Jr. and Anthony will share the same floor in the regular season. Hardaway Jr. signed a four-year, $71 million offer sheet from the Knicks that the Atlanta Hawks decided not to match. According to ESPN.com's Kevin Arnovitz, the Hawks were willing to offer him just $45 million.
That paved the way for Hardaway Jr. to return to the team that drafted him in 2013.
In 2015, the Knicks shipped Hardaway Jr. to the Hawks as part of a three-team trade that gave them Jerian Grant. Hardaway Jr. struggled in his first season with the Hawks but regained his form last season, averaging a career-high 14.5 points and making 35.7 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc in 79 games.
