Knicks Trade Rumors: Carmelo Anthony still prefers Houston
Carmelo Anthony has been presented with a surplus of options, but the New York Knicks star would still prefer to be traded to the Houston Rockets.
The New York Knicks have backed themselves into a corner that they may not be able to escape. The front office has been shopping small forward Carmelo Anthony, but it revealed that it would pause the proceedings almost directly after the 10-time All-Star finally warmed up to the idea of leaving.
As the front office attempts to determine if it can reincorporate Anthony into its vision, it’s becoming clear that he has no interest in taking part in that process.
Anthony has become one of the most prominent names on the open market. New York has attempted to deal its former franchise player for months on end, but it wasn’t until recently that he expressed a willingness to waive his no-trade clause.
According to Ian Begley of ESPN New York, Anthony would rather go ahead with waiving his no-trade clause for the Houston Rockets than be reincorporated into the Knicks’ system.
"Carmelo Anthony’s top destination in any trade, per league sources, is the Houston Rockets. Nothing really has changed since ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported more than a week ago that Anthony still expected the Knicks to carry out their previous plan to trade him to Houston."
That doesn’t mean a trade will occur, but creating a healthy locker room culture could be an insurmountable hurdle if Anthony continues with this line of thinking, and isn’t dealt.
Anthony, 33, has spent the past seven seasons as the face of the Knicks. He led New York to early success, including three consecutive postseason appearances and the first Atlantic Division title since 1993-94.
The Knicks have missed the playoffs in each of the past four seasons, however, and have thus embraced a youth movement.
With Anthony’s timeline no longer matching that of the young core, he’s eyeing an opportunity to put an NBA championship next to his NCAA title and three Olympic gold medals.
Houston has two All-NBA mainstays in point guard Chris Paul and hybrid guard James Harden. It also has a deep cast of wing defenders and 3-point shooters, which appears to have piqued Anthony’s interest on multiple levels.
Coupled with the fact that Paul and Anthony are close friends, it’s none too surprising that Anthony is willing to leave New York to play in Houston.
The absence of a state income tax is quite appealing, as well.
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The question is: Will the New York Knicks honor the request and trade Carmelo Anthony to the Houston Rockets?
Moreover, will the Houston Rockets provide an appealing enough trade package to pique Scott Perry’s interest?