Carmelo Anthony is currently unwilling to waive his no-trade clause. But if he did, or when he becomes a free agent, where would he go?
A close friend to Anthony, Charley Rosen, provides some insight on where those other destinations might be if Melo does ever decide to leave the Knicks.
Via The New York Post:
Nevertheless, Charley Rosen, one of Jackson’s longtime friends, wrote in a Thursday column on Fanrag.com, in an unsourced piece: “It’s understood that [Anthony would] only accept being dealt to the Cavaliers or the Clippers” and possibly could be sold on the Lakers.
Rosen, though, wrote that a trade scenario is “highly doubtful” with those clubs because, with Anthony nearing his 33rd birthday, “does anybody want to dispense with a rotation player, or a young sub and/or a first-round draft pick?”
Trading Anthony is about as tough as anything considering his max contract. The Clippers could maybe do a swap but it would have to involve one of their Big 3 already. The Lakers could eventually make cap space unless the Knicks were willing to take on a slew of unattractive contracts to get rid of Melo. The Cavs could also possibly make it work by involving Kevin Love and other pieces.
Carmelo has a player option for the 2018-19 season meaning he can’t become a free agent until the summer of 2018. The Banana Boat Team rumors that involve LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul joining forces with Anthony may pick up more steam by that time. Otherwise, it seems we’re a long way off from Anthony finding a team besides the Knicks.
This insight from Rosen simply allows us to understand how picky Melo will be and how much power he has.
