The Finances
Designing an ideal trade will mean lining up salaries and finding a way to circumvent this restrictive situation. The Cleveland Cavaliers have minimal flexibility, meaning the finances would need to line up close to equally.
That could prove somewhat difficult when one considers the fact that Carmelo Anthony is one of the highest paid players in the NBA.
Anthony is owed $26,243,760 for the 2017-18 season, which is the only figure of note as far as getting the trade done is concerned. He also has a player option worth $27,928,140 for 2018-19, which Cleveland must be ready to take on in the event that Anthony accepts it.
As far as simply executing a trade is concerned, Cleveland would need to keep it close to the $26,243,760 figure in outgoing salaries.
Kyrie Irving will make $18,868,626 in 2017-18, and Kevin Love will be paid $22,642,350. One of those two contracts will likely need to be included, as a combination of Iman Shumpert at $10,337,079 and J.R. Smith at $13,760,000 simply wouldn’t be accepted.
With conflicting salaries, New York will need to either get creative with its trade package or include a third team in the proceedings.