Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony Willing to Waive His No-Trade Clause

As other NBA teams make big splashes during free agency, the Knicks are stuck in the mud with no President of Basketball Operations and a disgruntled star with a no trade clause going nowhere. What can they do? An answer to one of those glaring question-marks could very well be on its way, it would appear. According to Adrian Wojnarowski, Carmelo Anthony is willing to waive his no trade clause for the Cavaliers or Rockets.

The Cavaliers obviously boast the chance to play alongside a superstar in Anthony’s good friend LeBron James. Cleveland is also a short plane ride away for Anthony to stay connected with his son in New York, which is also a main priority as he weighs his options. Swapping Anthony for Kevin Love would work financially, but such a move wouldn’t aid in the Knicks’ youth movement. At 28, Love is an established star on a big contract. Though he’s a formidable double-double candidate and a perennial all-star, employing such a talent may force the Knicks to sacrifice playing time for Kristaps Porzingis and/or Willy Hernangomez. With the latter being more likely, that would mean playing Porzingis more often at the five. New York has previously shied away from such a concept in the past.

The Rockets have replaced the Clippers in the Anthony sweepstakes now that another banana boat buddy, Chris Paul, has taken his services to Houston. Playing for the Rockets would mean Anthony would reunite with former Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni. That seems like a less than ideal scenario, but the Knicks’ star would be a perfect power forward in a lineup that features Paul and James Harden. In a star driven league full of emerging super-teams, this would be a very imposing trio.

Just about any trade scenario involving Houston would force the Knicks to take Ryan Anderson back. On the bright side, the Rockets arguably have other younger pieces and better future assets than Cleveland would be able to offer. New York could always look for a third trade partner to move Anderson to.

The main thing here is that Anthony’s willingness to make a deal work will help the Knicks move the needle. As soon as they find a solution that works well enough for both parties, they can move on with the offseason and start to plan more accurately for a promising future that may await.