With his preferred trade to the Houston Rockets far from becoming a reality, superstar Carmelo Anthony has given the New York Knicks two other options which he hopes could fulfil his dream to get a fresh start with another franchise. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Anthony has added the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Oklahoma City Thunder to the list of teams he’d be willing to waive his no-trade clause. The Cavaliers were included in Anthony’s initial list but he removed them after Kyrie Irving’s trade request became public, leaving only the Rockets as the only option for the Knicks.
Anthony was convinced to add two more after the Knicks told him that they were unable to reach a deal with the Rockets.
Rockets-Knicks negotiations getting nowhere
Earlier, the Rockets offered Ryan Anderson to the Knicks, who rejected it as they don’t want to be burdened by the remaining three years and $60 million in the power forward’s contract. The Rockets tried bringing two more teams to the negotiating table but they still failed to reach an agreement. Now that Anthony has given the Knicks two more options, his camp is hoping that the superstar will be with another team when training camp starts next week.
Anthony-to-Cavaliers won’t happen?
The New York Daily News reported that the Knicks reached out to the Cavaliers under the presumption that Anthony will be amenable to waiving his no-trade clause for Cleveland.
However, the newspaper clarified that the two sides have had only cursory discussions and there are currently no parameters of a deal. While Anthony is interested in joining forces with close friend LeBron James, the Cavaliers look like they are not that interested in acquiring the 10-time All-Star via trade.
According to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today, the Cavaliers won’t give up the Brooklyn Nets’ 2018 first-round pick for Anthony.
The Nets’ pick was included in the package that the Boston Celtics shipped to Cleveland for Irving. The Cavaliers also acquired Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, and Ante Zizic and a 2020 second-round pick. Zillgitt said the Cavaliers want to hold on to the pick, which they can use to get a talented young player in case James leaves Cleveland for the second time in 2018.
Also, the Cavaliers are way above the salary cap, meaning they cannot accommodate Anthony’s $26.2 million contract for the coming season. If they really want to pursue Anthony, they have to dispose of some other contracts to create salary cap room.
