In an effort to complete their trade negotiations for Carmelo Anthony, the Houston Rockets and the New York Knicks tried to bring in a third team – the Milwaukee Bucks – into the mix. According to Ian Begley of ESPN.com, the name of Bucks forward Jabari Parker was mentioned during discussions but the talks failed to gain traction. Begley said it was unclear who threw the name of Parker into the conversation, but the Knicks were adamant to take in another hefty contract and a young forward with a history of ACL injuries under his belt. Currently, Parker is recovering from his second ACL injury since 2014 and could be out until the NBA All-Star break.
The Rockets and the Knicks have been working out a trade that would bring Anthony to Houston. The superstar has a no-trade clause in his contract that he will only waive if he’s traded to the Rockets, where he will join close friend Chris Paul. Earlier, Anthony also mentioned the Cleveland Cavaliers as a possible trade destination, but changed his mind due to the uncertainty brought about by Kyrie Irving’s trade demand.
Rockets made several offers for Anthony
At first, the Rockets tried to negotiate a straight-up trade with the Knicks, offering power forward Ryan Anderson for Anthony. However, the Knicks rejected the offer as they didn’t want to shoulder the remaining $61 million in Anderson’s contract.
The Rockets attempted to involve the Trail Blazers, but the trade never happened. The Trail Blazers, for their part, also want to take in Anthony. The Knicks temporarily stopped negotiations for Anthony when they hired Scott Perry as general manager. The move was aimed at allowing Perry to meet with Anthony and discuss the possibility of reincorporating him into the team.
However, Anthony insisted that he wants to be traded to the Rockets.
Knicks want Anthony to waive no-trade clause
Aside from the Rockets, several teams have expressed interest in trading for Anthony, including the Blazers and the Oklahoma City Thunder. However, the Knicks cannot make a move as Anthony only wants to waive his no-trade clause for the Rockets.
The Knicks urged Anthony to add more teams as possible trade destinations and not to limit it to the Rockets. The Blazers also called on Anthony to include them in his preferred destinations, but the All-Star forward said he doesn’t want to play for Portland. With the impasse dragging on for months, Begley said there is a possibility that the Knicks will open training camp with Anthony still on the roster.
