New York Knicks: The Difficulty In Trading Carmelo Anthony
While it seems time for the New York Knicks and Carmelo Anthony to part ways, finding a workable trade will be harder than it seems.
The New York Knicks are a team struggling to find its path. Budding superstar Kristaps Porzingis is the future of the organization, and with the rules of the new CBA it is likely he will play in New York for the next decade. But how to build a team around the Latvian center?
This past summer the Knicks chose the win-now route, signing or trading for veterans such as Derrick Rose and Courtney Lee. Joakim Noah is under contract for four seasons to play for the Knicks, and will be a creaky 35 when his contract ends. The Knickerbockers invested in the present this summer, not the future.
The best time for this group of players was always going to be this season, and that has not panned out. New York is six games under .500 with 34 games remaining, and are surrounded in the standings by teams with playoff hopes themselves.
The Knicks are therefore forced to look ahead, to begin planning their roster of the future. Whether or not Phil Jackson stays on as team president after this season, it seems increasingly likely that Carmelo Anthony will not be a member of this team by the trade deadline.
There are two problems in trading Anthony: Whether he wants to leave, and whether the team receiving him can make a package that works for everyone.
The Cleveland Cavaliers rebuffed the Knicks’ offer of Anthony for Kevin Love, and the Boston Celtics informed New York that they were no longer interested, after preliminary talks took place last offseason. Teams ready to invest assets in a true franchise cornerstone are passing on Carmelo Anthony.
That becomes the center of the issue with trading Anthony. The former Syracuse star has a no-trade clause worked into his contract, meaning that he has to agree to a trade before he moves teams. The teams that Anthony is interested in are those seeing success – the Cavaliers, the Celtics, the Clippers. They generally have a full roster and a small amount of money to work with, and that limits their options when trading for a superstar.
Those teams with cap space are often younger teams further away from true contention. Anthony finds himself already on a team miles away from contention, so why not stay in New York City and enjoy the spotlight?
The Los Angeles Clippers have gained the most traction in trade discussions among other teams, but their issues are threefold. First, they are hard-capped, meaning they can only increase their payroll by the thousands and not millions in finding inexpensive yet talented players.
Second, the Los Angeles Clippers have virtually no assets to trade. They have already made it clear they will not be sacrificing any of their stars to acquire another one. With first round draft picks in 2017 and 2019 owed out, the Clips have very few assets remaining.
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J.J. Redick is a nice idea as part of a package for Anthony, but Redick is a much better shooter; his fit with the others in L.A. is like a glove. Would trading him for Anthony be an upgrade? Redick also makes $17 million less than Melo, making a trade centered around those pieces difficult at best.
The Knicks would have little interest in Redick themselves as they look to rebuild; the 32-year-old shooting guard is a free agent at the end of the season and doesn’t fit any of the Knicks’ plans. A third team would be required to make the move work.
That’s all based on Anthony agreeing to a trade that would send him to L.A. If he wishes to go somewhere else, or even stay in Gotham, then he refuses to waive the no-trade clause and he stays put.
Carmelo Anthony was a onetime superstar in this league, never able to reach the highest of heights but still spectacular in his own right. But at 32, Anthony’s middling defense has fallen even further off, and he is no longer scoring at the same rates of volume and efficiency. His value around the league is not as high as some may think.
The New York Knicks want to move Anthony and recoup as many assets as possible. On the other end of the phone lines, general managers and owners are going to have a difficult time putting together a package for Anthony that makes sense for both sides.
In the end, Anthony can help a team win games, even playoff games. He won’t have that opportunity this season or possibly beyond with the current roster, nor that many years left in the tank to chase a conference crown.
If the Knicks find a suitable partner, if that team is interested in “paying up” for Carmelo, and if he waives his no-trade clause, then trade season will explode out of the gate. If not, then yet again the Knicks will fight internally about his value to the organization and wonder as he ages whether they should’ve made a move.
Either way, the drama of a New York Knicks trade, combined with a superstar name, make for engaging theater over the coming weeks.
