Carmelo Anthony has been the talk of NBA free agency this summer. Former New York Knicks president of basketball operations Phil Jackson expressed during the entire 2016-17 season that it would be in both Melo's and the team's best interest if the two parted ways. In order to do so, Anthony would have to waive his no-trade clause that he demanded when he signed his current contract. An issue that Melo would not agree to until the conclusion of the season for a few select teams of his choice.

Despite Anthony remaining quiet for most of the summer, his team has made it clear that he is only interested in joining the Houston Rockets to play alongside James Harden and longtime friend Chris Paul.

However, the Rockets traded away a lot of their assets in order to acquire CP3 last month and are looking for help from other sources to assist with the possible acquisition. On Wednesday, Melo spoke with ESPN reporters about his opinion on his situation with New York and the team's decision to get rid of Jackson.

"I don't know I'm not talking about basketball right now," Melo said about showing up at training camp. When asked about his feelings on the firing of Jackson, Melo said, "I thought it was a business decision. Dolan gotta run his organization."

Future plans for Melo

ESPN's Stephen A. Smith spoke Wednesday about Melo's plans moving forward and said that ultimately Melo still wants to be traded from the team and Phil Jackson made the situation in New York uncomfortable for him.

Also, since joining the franchise in 2010, they have failed to be the competitive team he believed they would be. At the start of the NBA free agency period in July, Anthony reportedly would waive his no-trade clause for Houston and Cleveland.

The idea of teaming up with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving did not take long to fade once Irving made it clear that he wants to be traded from the Cavs.

Besides that, LeBron's contract expires at the end of next season and he is expected to jump ship again to L.A. where his family currently lives. Due to the issues that have now occurred in Cleveland, Carmelo has removed the team from his list of destinations.

Teams that could persuade Melo to join

The Oklahoma City Thunder surprised the world of NBA fans when they acquired all-star Paul George from the Indiana Pacers at the start of the free agency period.

Like Anthony, George was only rumored to be dealt to two different teams. However, the Thunder pulled off the unthinkable and found a perfect sidekick for reigning MVP Russell Westbrook.

The move instantly made OKC a possible contender in the Western Conference to compete with the Golden State Warriors. The best thing about the deal is that they did not have to give up much to get him. So, this means the team still has plenty of assets to offer the Knicks in return for Melo. Last week on ESPN's SC6, it was reported by Bill Simmons that the Thunder and Anthony have been "circling each other."
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