New York Knicks superstar Carmelo Anthony will not waive his no-trade clause for the New Orleans Pelicans. Anthony’s decision came days after Pelicans forward DeMarcus Cousins expressed interest in playing with the Knicks superstar. As of now, Anthony is set on being traded to the Houston Rockets, the only team he’s willing waive his no-trade clause for. Earlier, the All-Star said he was willing to be traded to the Rockets or the Cleveland Cavaliers but he removed the latter from his list due to the turmoil surrounding the Kyrie Irving issue.
Trade negotiations have stalled due to Anthony’s refusal to expand his choice of teams.
The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Portland Trail Blazers are also interested in acquiring him but the Knicks cannot deal with these teams because Anthony will just turn it down. The New York Post reported that the Pelicans are willing to arrange a three-team deal to acquire Anthony, who said he’s not interested in joining Anthony Davis and Cousins in New Orleans.
Knicks want Anthony to expand list beyond Rockets
According to the New York Post, the Knicks asked Anthony to expand his wish list beyond the Rockets, where he wants to join close friend Chris Paul and James Harden. The Knicks want him to consider the Trail Blazers, Cavaliers, Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Pelicans. A source said that the Knicks' brass told him to consider more teams because they are not willing to make a “bad trade." Anthony could be enticed to add the Blazers to his list after he was seen playing a pickup game with Portland shooting guard C.J.
McCollum earlier this week. Aside from McCollum, Damian Lillard also reached out to Anthony in an effort to convince him to join the Blazers. The Knicks and the Rockets were in the middle of a trade negotiation involving Anthony before the former hired general manager Scott Perry.
Anthony at peace with the situation
Recently, Anthony said he was “at peace’’ with what’s happening with the Knicks.
The forward also revealed that he had great conversations with Perry, saying the Knicks “know what I’m looking for.’’ However, the forward said he’s unsure if he will be at the Knicks' training camp. If they fail to trade him, the Knicks can sit Anthony next season before he opts out of the final year of his deal in 2018. Last season, Anthony averaged 22.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game but the Knicks missed the playoff with a 31-51 record.
