The Knicks have punted on trying to find a new general manager after failing to come to terms with former Cavs’ boss David Griffin, instead choosing to let Steve Mills run the show this offseason. Mills’ top priority is to get rid of Carmelo Anthony, who has two years left on his deal.
The difficulty in making a trade involving Anthony is finding a suitable offer while also finding a team that Anthony is willing to waive his no-trade clause for. As of now, the only team that seems to be able to meet both of those criteria is the Houston Rockets. With Chris Paul now on board, Anthony is reportedly willing to waive his no-trade clause to play with his good friend (and James Harden). Now it’s a matter of figuring out what pieces go back to the Knicks in return for Anthony.
To clear room for Anthony, the Rockets likely have to move Ryan Anderson and his massive contract, but for a Knicks team looking at a rebuild in their immediate future, he doesn’t really fit as an asset and he wouldn’t provide any real cap relief from Anthony’s deal. So, the two sides have to figure out how to get the Knicks something back in return that isn’t Anderson, meaning other teams could be involved.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, while a deal is not imminent, the Rockets and Knicks are being very active in talks and a deal could involve as many as four teams total (including Houston and New York).
Sources: Knicks, Rockets working on Carmelo Anthony trade scenarios that include four-team deals. Sides motivated but no agreement imminent.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 12, 2017
We don’t know what teams are involved in discussions, but based on the contracts from Houston that likely have to be taken on by a team, you can make a reasonably educated guess that it’s one of the few teams with significant cap room available. Among the options would be the Bulls, Suns, Hawks, Nets, and Sixers, each of which can create at least $15 million in space by renouncing cap holds.
The Knicks likely won’t get tons of value in return for Anthony, but if they can clear cap space for the near future with the move and maybe acquire a young player or draft pick then it would have to be considered a win for New York.
