According to a new report from Frank Isola of the “New York Daily News,” star small forward Carmelo Anthony, and his camp are “cautiously optimistic” that he will be traded from the New York Knicks to the Houston Rockets before Monday of next week. However, such a move is still nothing close to a guarantee, with a lot of possible hurdles still in the way.

Anthony ready to move onto to Houston

In his report, Isola wrote that “Two weeks ago, Carmelo's wife La La, said that the family thought a trade would have been completed by now. Mentally Carmelo and his family have moved on to Houston.

Reality is another story.” Back in July, a source told the “New York Daily News” that the Knicks and Rockets had heavily discussed the details of a potential trade.

At the time, the deal was apparently at the “two-yard line” according to the source. However, Phil Jackson was fired at the very end of June, which held up a deal getting completed. Since mid-July when new team president Steve Mills and GM Scott Perry were hired, a deal has not happened because they have been pushing for the best possible return on Anthony, while not really worrying about what his wants are.

A complicated trade to make

The major problem is that while Mills and Perry want to get the best deal possible, such a move is almost impossible to do as Carmelo Anthony has made it clear that he only wants to be traded to the Houston Rockets and no one else.

Anthony has a no-trade clause in his contract, which he would have to agree to waive in order for a trade to take place and he would only do that to join James Harden and Chris Paul.

Houston can only afford to take on Anthony's $26 million salary this year if they move power forward Ryan Anderson. However, Anderson is owed $61 million over the next three seasons.

The Knicks have made it clear they have no interest in taking on his contract and finding someone who would is proving to be extremely difficult. If a third team can't be found in the trade to take on Anderson, then both Anthony and the Knicks will be stuck in limbo with each other.

And one that will likely not happen

Despite the optimism, Isola said that barring a 11th-hour deal Carmelo will still be on the New York Knicks when the team holds their annual media day that signals the start of training camp next week.

While the entire focus would be more on the Anthony drama than the rebuilding Knicks, that kind of dysfunction is par for the course with them.

During the 2016-17 season, Phil Jackson publicly talked about trading him, and Carmelo expressed and continues to show his unhappiness. This offseason much of the drama and discussion around the team has centered on the odds of him being traded. If Anthony remains on the team, then that will continue to be the dominating headline for the Knicks 2017-18 season.
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