Carmelo Anthony doesn’t plan on putting on a New York Knicks jersey next season.
The 33-year-old star recently elected to lift his no-trade clause to approve a move to the Houston Rockets or Cleveland Cavaliers, but while talks allegedly broke down between the Knicks and Rockets, Anthony reportedly expects those talks to resume and the deal to be completed before the start of the 2017-18 campaign.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Saturday that Anthony is “counting on” the Knicks to follow through with the trade to Houston.
Wojnarowski also reported, citing league sources, that Anthony “has begun to prioritize a trade to the Rockets to join Chris Paul and James Harden over one to the Cavaliers and LeBron James.”
The Knicks and Rockets reportedly are looking for a third team to facilitate the deal since New York allegedly is not interested in Ryan Anderson, who the Rockets would like to unload in a deal for Anthony.
But Wojnarowski reported that one team the Knicks and Rockets hoped would be the third member of the deal, the Portland Trail Blazers, only will be a part of the trade if Anthony agrees to go to the Pacific Northwest, which seems unlikely.
The Knicks reportedly also hope to talk Anthony into playing out the remaining two years of his contract in New York, but since Anthony finally agreed to waive the no-trade clause, it appears the high-powered scorer is destined for Houston as part of the arms race in the Western Conference.
Thumbnail photo via Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports Images
