Blazers duo trying to sell Melo on Rip City
Time is a four-letter word. But so are talk and hope. While Carmelo Anthony apparently doesn’t want to talk about extending his stay with the Knicks, who feel time is on their side, another team, Portland, has emerged with hope of landing the 10-time All-Star.
Anthony apparently would prefer to be a Rocket, but the Knicks, with a new front office in place, will not be rushed into doing something just to get something done, a league source maintained.
All the attention has been focused on Houston and Cleveland as Anthony’s desired landing spots. But on Wednesday, the Trail Blazers, formerly seen as facilitators, possibly stepped up as suitors through their AllStar backcourt. Guards Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, speaking to reporters at Lillard’s basketball camp, indicated their belief Anthony would consider Portland.
“I think he’s interested,” McCollum told the Oregonian and later, speaking on SiriusXM Radio, said, “If we add Carmelo Anthony, we’ll be a top three team in the West immediately.”
McCollum, according to the Blazers’ website, added: “Hashtag free Melo.” McCollum is attuned to the internet; on Sunday, he posted an Instagram image of Anthony in a Blazers jersey.
Lillard said Anthony joining the Blazers is “a real possibility,” according to Rip City Radio.
But ESPN, which reported Tuesday that Anthony has no desire to return to the Knicks even with Phil Jackson gone, also indicated the forward does not want to go to Portland. The Blazers guards feel differently. The Blazers need to find a trade partner to take Meyers Leonard, who’s owed over $31.6 million for three more years. If so, the guards said they believe Anthony would consider them.
So there’s always something regarding Anthony’s quest to leave New York in the wake of Jackson’s reign of error. Anthony wants to go to the Rockets and play alongside buddy Chris Paul and MVP runner-up James Harden.
But the Rockets have nothing to offer that the rebuilding Knicks want — again, 29year-old Ryan Anderson with $61 million plus left on three contractual years does not have the Knicks’ newly named brain trust of president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry exactly salivating. Anthony holds a no-trade clause that he is willing to waive for the right situation. Houston and Cleveland seem right to him — Anthony played pickup ball this week with Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving at UCLA. Jackson’s insistence that Anthony leave only damaged trade bargaining power, whether the former team president and his buddies believe it or not, and also apparently embittered Anthony beyond repair. So Anthony would waive his notrade for acceptable spots.
The problem in the Knicks’ eyes is that a “fair” deal is impossible to pull off with no-trade clauses because of the obvious limitations. The Knicks want youth in the form of young players or picks or financial relief, preferably both. But there are limitations. So the Rockets, who went up for sale this week (although that scenario has no impact on a potential trade), need to find an acceptable trade partner who has the assets the Knicks would want.
Which brings everything pretty much back to square one. Anthony wants it done quickly. The Knicks are content to wait until something desirable materializes and feel no time crunch.