Instead of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Carmelo Anthony and Paul George could be with the Cleveland Cavaliers right now if the trade in place on the night of the NBA Draft pushed through. Anthony made this revelation during an interview on SiriusXM, per Ian Begley of ESPN.com, saying he and George were supposed to be in Cleveland on draft night. Anthony said he and George were constantly communicating about the deal, which was actually done, but it was called off on the night of the NBA Draft.
Earlier, it was reported that the Cavaliers tried to work out a three-team trade with the Indiana Pacers and the Denver Nuggets.
In that deal, George will be shipped to the Cavaliers, power forward Kevin Love to the Nuggets while the Pacers would get Gary Harris and Denver's No. 13 pick.. In addition, both Anthony and the Cavaliers have expressed mutual interest in each other. After the trade didn't happen, Anthony said he and George remained connected throughout the course of the season. Now they are both teammates with the Thunder after the New York Knicks traded Anthony to Oklahoma City for Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott and a 2018 second-round pick. George, for his part, was traded by the Pacers to the Thunder for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis.
Anthony said trade to Rockets also done
During the same interview, Anthony said the trade that would have sent him to the Houston Rockets was already done.
However, Anthony said it didn’t go through for some reason. Initially, Anthony mentioned the Cavaliers and Rockets as the teams for which he’s willing to waive his no-trade clause. However, he removed the Cavaliers from his list after Kyrie Irving’s trade demand went public, leaving the Rockets as his only preferred destination.
The Knicks tried to work out a trade with the Rockets, but they failed to reach common ground. Recently, the Knicks asked Anthony to add two more teams to his list. The superstar agreed and added the Thunder and the Cavaliers.
Anthony wrote letter to New York
After his trade to the Thunder, Anthony wrote a goodbye letter to the city of New York, saying he fell in love with the city at a very young age.
Anthony said New York will be a special place for him, adding that it has molded and prepared him for the “rest of my life without even knowing.” In his letter, Anthony thanked the Knicks front office and the fans for letting him represent the city. The 33-year-old Anthony played seven seasons with the Knicks, averaging 24.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists and a steal per game. Anthony carried the Knicks to the playoff three times, but the last appearance came during the 2012-13 season.
