Carmelo Anthony has said numerous times that he wants to remain with the New York Knicks, but he is apparently willing to waive his no-trade clause for at least two teams.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports that Anthony would not block a trade to either the Houston Rockets or Cleveland Cavaliers. Wojnarowski adds that the Rockets have been “proactive” recently in pursuing a way to trade for Anthony, though no agreement has been close.
Anthony would obviously only approve a trade to a contending team, and the Rockets and Cavaliers both qualify. That is especially true now that Houston has acquired Chris Paul, who is close friends with Anthony. Carmelo is also friends with LeBron James.
Since the Knicks parted ways with Phil Jackson, they have reportedly been insistent upon getting something of value in return for Anthony and are not interested in buying out his contract. Jackson stated openly that he felt Carmelo would be better off elsewhere, but the Knicks may feel they have more leverage now since the strained relationship between Jackson and Anthony is no longer a factor.
What is particularly interesting about the rumors connecting Anthony to Houston is that Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni and Carmelo have a tumultuous history together. It was long assumed that D’Antoni walked out on the Knicks in 2012 because he didn’t want to deal with Anthony anymore, and the coach recently made an interesting revelation about that.
Anthony turned 33 in May, but he is still capable of being one of the better scorers in the NBA. He averaged 22.4 points per game with the Knicks last season.
