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New York Knicks: Designing an ideal Carmelo Anthony trade with Portland Trail Blazers

By Maxwell Ogden

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 22: Carmelo Anthony #7 of the New York Knicks fights for the rebound against Ed Davis #17 of the Portland Trail Blazers on November 22, 2016 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 22: Carmelo Anthony #7 of the New York Knicks fights for the rebound against Ed Davis #17 of the Portland Trail Blazers on November 22, 2016 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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PORTLAND, OR – APRIL 12: Maurice Harkless #4 of the Portland Trail Blazers dunks the ball during the game against the New Orleans Pelicans on April 12, 2017 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Cameron Browne/NBAE via Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OR – APRIL 12: Maurice Harkless #4 of the Portland Trail Blazers dunks the ball during the game against the New Orleans Pelicans on April 12, 2017 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Cameron Browne/NBAE via Getty Images) /

The Trade

The most likely defensive-minded wing to be included in a trade package is forward Maurice Harkless. That would be an ideal return, but the New York Knicks and Portland Trail Blazers would need to add other pieces to this deal.

With a combination of Harkless, a future first-round draft pick, an expiring contract, and a 3-and-D big man, the Trail Blazers create the ideal trade package.

For the Trail Blazers, this deal would bring Carmelo Anthony to an already lethal scoring perimeter. It would also bring rebounding and shot-blocking big man Kyle O’Quinn to Portland on what projects to be an expiring deal due to the unlikelihood of him accepting his 2018-19 player option.

Moving forward, Portland would have a starting lineup of Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum, Anthony, Al-Farouq Aminu, and Jusuf Nurkic, with O’Quinn leading a strong bench.

For the Knicks, this trade would be about finding a high-quality defender in 24-year-old forward Maurice Harkless. Ed Davis has an expiring contract, Meyers Leonard is a 7’1″ big man with a 3-point shot, and the future first-round draft pick would likely come in 2018.

In turn, the Knicks would have a strong starting lineup of Frank Ntilikina, Tim Hardaway Jr., Harkless, Kristaps Porzingis, and Willy Hernangomez—all of whom are 25 and under.

Must Read: 5 reasons the Carmelo Anthony trade should remain paused

The question is: Can you design a better Carmelo Anthony trade for the New York Knicks? Hit the comments section and let us know!

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