Carmelo Anthony reportedly could have been a Boston Celtic back in February if it weren’t for Danny Ainge.
According to Marc Berman of the New York Post, the Celtics’ coaching staff wanted the team to acquire Anthony at February’s trade deadline, but were ultimately overruled by general manager Ainge. Forward Jae Crowder was coveted by the New York Knicks in the initial talks that did not lead to anything.
One of Ainge’s primary motives was to keep Boston’s cap flexibility in place for the 2017 free agent class.
With the Celtics down 2-0 in their playoff series to the Chicago Bulls, it’s not a stretch to believe that Boston could rekindle those talks in the offseason, particularly if free agency doesn’t go great for them. Reports did, after all, indicate that Boston would at least get Anthony’s consideration.
