Another day, another twist in the Carmelo Anthony trade rumors.
The New York Knicks seem determined to move their veteran forward before the NBA’s Feb. 23 trade deadline and reportedly have reached out to several teams, including the Cleveland Cavaliers.
And it appears the possibility of a Carmelo-to-Cleveland trade still is alive — the Cavs “maintain an interest” in acquiring Anthony via a deal that would “pair him with Cleveland star and close friend LeBron James,” ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Marc Stein reported Wednesday, citing league sources.
But according to Shelburne and Stein, there’s a catch: The Knicks still have an interest in acquiring Kevin Love, per their sources, but Cleveland is unwilling to do a trade with New York that involves the All-Star forward. The Cavs reportedly rejected the Knicks’ proposal of an Anthony-for-Love swap last week.
If a trade involving Anthony and Love indeed is off the table, New York might have to get creative, and apparently, it’s still testing the waters. The Knicks “continue to engage” the Los Angeles Clippers and Boston Celtics in talks about a potential three-team deal involving Anthony, per Shelburne and Stein.
Anthony has a no-trade clause but reportedly would be willing to waive it for the Celtics, Clippers or Cavs.
As Shelburne and Stein point out, Anthony’s contract could complicate trade talks with any club. The 32-year-old has two seasons and $54.2 million left on his contract after this season, and he also has a 15 percent “trade kicker” that would require his new team to pay him an extra $9.6 million.
Thumbnail photo via David Richard/USA TODAY Sports Images
