Carmelo Anthony Expects Knicks to Continue Trade Talks With the Rockets
For months on end, former New York Knicks president Phil Jackson publicly pushed Carmelo Anthony to waive his no-trade clause so they could move him elsewhere. When Jackson left, the team continued to discuss trade scenarios centered on the 10-time All-Star, and Anthony would eventually agree to waive his no-trade clause as long as they traded him to the Houston Rockets or the Cleveland Cavaliers.
However, something has changed in the past week and they are now putting trade talks on hold until Anthony can have a meeting with the Knicks' revamped front office led by new team president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry.
There may be a slight delay, but ESPN has reported that Anthony still expects the Knicks to trade him to the Rockets.
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"Whatever stance a post-Phil Jackson front office is taking now, Anthony expects the Knicks to resume trade talks soon and honor the franchise's long-standing goal to rebuild without him, league sources said," Adrian Wojnarowski wrote in his report for ESPN.
Wojnarowski also noted that the Knicks decided to pause trade talks partly because they were not pleased with the proposed returns on a deal involving Anthony.
"Months of organizational harping on Anthony, driven largely by deposed president of basketball operations Jackson, has dramatically lowered Anthony's trade value," Wojnarowski said.
Now, Mills and Perry will have to decide if trading away Anthony is the right move since his trade value is currently at an all-time low.
Reintegrating him into the team is an option. However, the Knicks know that there's little chance that Anthony would change his mind after all the public bashing he endured while Jackson was still running the team. Moreover, Jackson might be the one who publicly said Anthony was better off playing elsewhere, but he wasn't the only one in the organization that wanted to get rid of the All-Star forward.
The Knicks want to wait until Anthony's trade value improves before they move him. But will he cooperate?
