Photo Credit: Associated Press
Pelicans Interested In Carmelo Anthony, But Knicks & Rockets Re-engaged Trade Talks
It has gotten a little quite around the whole Carmelo Anthony trade hype. A couple of weeks ago, it was only a matter of days until the Houston Rockets and New York Knicks agreed to a deal that would send Melo to Houston. It didn’t happen though.
Houston still appears to be the front runner and the only team not named New York Knicks, Anthony seems to have interest in playing for.
But New Orleans would love to welcome Melo to the Big Easy, and their All Star big man DeMarcus Cousins more than agrees with it.
Add Pelicans star DeMarcus Cousins to the list of NBA players who'd like Carmelo Anthony traded to their team: pic.twitter.com/zkr3M5Jb4q
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) August 7, 2017
Facts
— DeMarcus Cousins (@boogiecousins) August 4, 2017
Yesterday, the New York Post reported that the New Orleans Pelicans are interested in trading for Carmelo Anthony.
“According to an NBA source, New Orleans also would have interest in getting Anthony for its roster. Nevertheless, an NBA source told The Post that Anthony has told the Knicks he would not agree to waive his no-trade clause for New Orleans.”
But it seems like Anthony would only waive his no-trade clause for the Houston Rockets, who just have re-engaged trade talks with the Knicks, at least according to ‘breaking news phenom’ Adrian Wojnarowski.
“The New York Knicks and Houston Rockets have re-engaged on trade talks involving 10-time All-Star Carmelo Anthony, with the Rockets again canvassing third-team trade partners to construct a deal, league sources told ESPN.
Anthony remains steadfast that he only plans to waive his no-trade clause for the Rockets and refuses to expand his list to include more possible destinations, league sources said….
The Knicks remain willing to start training camp with Anthony, 33, on the roster, and a real scenario exists where the Rockets and Anthony remain patient that a deal could have to wait until the regular season is underway, league sources said.”
The last time the Knicks and the Rockets discussed a potential trade, sources said that a third and possibly fourth team would need to be involved, especially to take on Ryan Anderson’s contract. That’s where the Pelicans would come into the picture once again. They apparently expressed interest in being one of the clubs involved, even if they weren’t able to land Anthony.
So the Pelicans’ interest in getting back Anderson does not make sense at first. You’ll have to take a second look at the Pelicans’ plan. They want to get rid of two bad contracts on their own. Both big men, Ömer Asik and Alexis Ajinca, have contracts, that are way too loaded for how they’ve been performing (if at all). That’s where the fourth team would come into play. A rebuilding, possibly even tanking team, like the Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, or Orlando Magic.
There are still a lot of ifs and whens, but New York wants to get rid of Anthony, and Anthony wants to go to Houston. We’ll soon may have yet another superteam.
