Joining the Houston Rockets Remains Carmelo Anthony's Top Priority
The New York Knicks' chances of landing Kyrie Irving have been dealt a huge blow.
Since they are unwilling to include Kristaps Porziņģis in trade talks (for now), the only way the Knicks can entice the Cleveland Cavaliers to part ways with Irving is to put together a package centered on perennial All-Star Carmelo Anthony. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to be that interested in joining the Cavaliers right now.
ESPN's Ian Begley has reported that Anthony appears to be dead set on joining the Houston Rockets and getting traded there remains his top priority.
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"Now things can evolve quickly in the NBA. Anthony can shift his thinking on his no-trade clause and where he would like to end up at any time. But as of Tuesday night, landing in Houston remained his top priority over all other potential destinations, including the Cleveland Cavaliers," Begley wrote in his report.
Meanwhile, the New York Daily News' Frank Isola has also noted that Anthony's "primary objective" is to go to the Rockets, and his camp remains optimistic that he will be moved to Houston. Isola also said that the Oklahoma City Thunder are legitimately interested in acquiring Anthony, but the Rockets remain his preferred destination.
"One person close to Anthony doubts he would play in Oklahoma City, but that perhaps he'd be willing to at least talk. Another simply said 'Houston' when asked about the OKC report," Isola said.
The Portland Trail Blazers have also been eyeing him in the past few weeks, and they just traded guard Allen Crabbe to the Brooklyn Nets in a salary dump. With his bloated contract off the books, Portland will now have the financial flexibility to go after Anthony. Unfortunately, the All-Star forward is not interested in waiving his no-trade clause for the Blazers. But who knows, maybe he will change his mind.
