In terms of NBA trade rumors, basketball fans would be hard pressed to find a player mentioned more than Carmelo Anthony this past season. Paul George and Jimmy Butler were both in the rumor mill for months, and both have now joined new teams. However, Carmelo is still being talked about with speculation he would get traded this summer to the Cleveland Cavaliers or Houston Rockets. Now there's a third team being mentioned: the Portland Trail Blazers. Here's the latest on these NBA trade rumors with the Blazers wanting Melo all to themselves.

Blazers want Melo too

The Sporting News published a recent report indicating that a deal was being put together involving up to four teams to move Carmelo Anthony from the NY Knicks to the Houston Rockets. In one of the attempted deals, the two teams were trying to get the Portland Trail Blazers to help participate in facilitating the deal. However, the Blazers didn't want to send Anthony to their Western Conference foes.

Instead, it's being reported that the Trail Blazers wanted to bring Carmelo Anthony to their roster. The Sporting News report mentioned that league sources told ESPN the Blazers would only participate in a deal if Melo expanded the short list of teams in his "no trade clause" exceptions to include them.

How Portland would benefit

This move would provide a major advantage for the Portland Trail Blazers. The team already contains a dynamic scoring backcourt of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. The two players combined to average 50 points per game, nearly ten assists, and over seven rebounds. Anthony would bring in a third scoring option and open things up for the other scorers on the floor.

The team finished 41-41 last season and just barely made it into the final spot in the NBA playoffs for the West, edging out the Denver Nuggets. From there, they had the misfortune of playing Golden State in round No. 1 and losing in a four-game sweep. Adding Carmelo Anthony to the roster doesn't give them a playoff veteran, but it certainly gives them another top star to form that cliche "Big Three" with Lillard and McCollum, assuming both players would remain part of the roster for Melo to be added.

However, the big caveat here remains Carmelo Anthony's decision. Is Portland a team he wants to play for and will he add them to his list with the Cavs and Rockets? It's always possible as not that many analysts or fans had been of the belief that Paul George would wind up going to Oklahoma City. As of right now, George seems OK being teamed with a fellow All-Star player with a chance to contend, so it may not be out of the question for Melo to team with Lillard in Portland to give him a fresh chance at competing.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED