New York Knicks: Five Mutually Beneficial Carmelo Anthony Trades

3. Cleveland Cavaliers

If the rumors are true that Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James want to play together, then why not explore the possibility? The New York Knicks aren’t making a trade to become an instant contender, which means enabling the Cleveland Cavaliers to improve wouldn’t be a bad decision.

The question is: would the Cavaliers be willing to trade the resurgent Kevin Love in order to acquire Anthony from the Knicks?

In a word: yes.

Love is playing well, but Anthony is the ultimate off-ball scoring threat—see: 1.6 catch and shoot 3-point field goals made per game on 43.6 percent shooting in 2016-17. He’s also dominated the Olympics alongside both James and Kyrie Irving in that very role.

Cleveland would be giving something up from a rebounding perspective, but Anthony is a better scorer than Love in the sense that he can space the floor and play inside.

Furthermore, James got Tristan Thompson an $82 million contract for a reason—and one could argue that he’s earned it in the 2015 and 2016 NBA Finals.

For the Knicks, adding Love to the roster would mean shifting Kristaps Porzingis to center. That’s a risky proposition this early in Porzingis’ career, but New York would have two elite shooters as big men and Love would dramatically improve the Knicks’ defensive rebounding.

Love leaves something to be desired on defense, but the Knicks would immediately become one of the Eastern Conference’s best offensive teams with that interior duo.

Anthony would join a legitimate contender and play with a close friend, while the Knicks would get younger—Love is 28 years of age—and better fit Porzingis’ timeline.

If we’ve learned anything about Anthony, it’s that he plays like a superstar alongside great playmakers—and James and Irving certainly fit the bill.