Where will Carmelo Anthony be at the beginning of the 2017/2018 season? This has been one of the most talked about topics over the past few weeks in the NBA. Anthony still has two more years left on his current contract with the New York Knicks, but has the right to opt out of the final year of the deal.
If he decides to opt out of the final year of his contract, he will become a free-agent in the summer of 2018 and surely many teams would love to acquire the 33-year-old All-Star. Even though he'll most likely be a free agent next season, Anthony has stated that he wants to leave New York this summer.
However, one thing that makes things complicated in Anthony's situation with the Knicks is the no-trade clause in his contract. Cleveland Cavaliers and the Houston Rockets have been mentioned as the favorites to land Carmelo this offseason, and Carmelo himself has stated publicly that he would be ready to waive his no-trade clause only for the Rockets. But, according to the latest ESPN reports, one other Western Conference team is also in the mix to land the 10-time All-Star.
Anthony teaming up with Lillard and McCollum?
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Portland Trail Blazers are one of the teams that have a chance to get Carmelo Anthony this summer. Wojnarowski reported that Portland's stars, Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, have been very active over the past few weeks in recruiting Anthony to Portland.
The two of them have reportedly done a good job so far, and McCollum himself said: "I think he's interested, I feel like we're also a very good option." Portland finished at the eighth spot in the Western Conference standings last season, with a solid 41-41 record. They made the playoffs narrowly but got swept in the first round by the Golden State Warriors.
Surely a combination of Carmelo Anthony, Lillard and McCollum would be an interesting one to see on the court but it would still not be enough to beat the Golden State Warriors in a potential first-round matchup.
Still performing at the highest level
Even though Anthony turned 33 in May, he is still one of the best scorers in today's NBA.
The 6-foot-8 small forward averaged 22.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game last season while shooting 43 percent from the field. He connected on 36 percent of his three-point attempts in 74 games played for the Knicks last season. Anthony's individual stats are still among the best in the NBA, but he hasn't been able to lead the Knicks to a meaningful playoff run since the 2013/2014 season.