Carmelo Anthony Will Reportedly Accept Trade to Portland If Knicks and Rockets Can't Agree on Deal
Right now, Carmelo Anthony and his camp remain "cautiously optimistic" he will be traded to the Houston Rockets before the start of training camp next week. But what if the New York Knicks refuse to move him because they don't like the package the Rockets are offering? What if they opt to wait for another offer?
That seems likely to happen. And if the Knicks can't get a deal done with the Rockets before training camp, Anthony may have to decide to accept a trade elsewhere.
According to Fox Sports 1's Jason McIntyre, Anthony's representatives are still doing all they can to get him to Houston, but if they fail in their attempt, the All-Star forward is allegedly willing to waive his no-trade clause and accept a deal for the Portland Trail Blazers.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Well, the Blazers have never kept their interest in Anthony a secret. In fact, Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum have been actively recruiting Anthony to join them in Portland. Evan Turner has weighed in on the potential trade as well and he welcomes the idea of adding the 10-time All-Star to their roster.
The Blazers do have a lot of trade assets so they don't need to bring in a third team to help facilitate a deal. Who knows, perhaps the Knicks can get a young player like Zach Collins in return. Turner, Maurice Harkless, Al-Farouq Aminu, Meyers Leonard and Ed Davis should be available as well.
However, Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek has noted that they are prepared to enter training camp with Anthony and he will continue to start for the team if they can't move him.
"It's not going to change. We're going to implement certain plays, certain defensive schemes that he's going to be asked to do. But if you think I'm not going to start him, you're crazy. If he's back. So he's a great player, he still is and he's going to lend a lot to our team. For us, we're assuming he's back," Hornacek said, via the New York Daily News.
Sources:
https://twitter.com/jasonrmcintyre/status/910908788986716160
http://nypost.com/2017/08/02/carmelo-anthony-getting-recruited-by-another-trail-blazer/
