Would Anthony accept a deal to play in Oklahoma City? They’re now seeking a third team that wants Jamal and can send an expiring contract to NY.
Advertisement
The Sixers have no such concern right now, save the condition of center Jahlil Okafor, who sat as a coach’s decision for the second straight night and missed his fourth straight game.
The Knicks are actually only two games behind eighth-place Chicago, despite some prolonged struggles after a 16-13 start. The Knickerbockers invested in the present this summer, not the future. Kanter is one of the NBA’s top reserves and is the Thunder’s third-leading scorer at 14.4 points per game. That has put the attention squarely on Anthony’s future in NY.
It’s no secret that the Knicks are determined to pull off a Carmelo Anthony trade ahead of the February 23 deadline. With clueless owner James Dolan taking over negotiations in 2011 with a winning team and two maximum slots for free agents, they moved half their roster for Melo (Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Ray Felton, Timofey Mozgov and a No. 1 to Denver; Eddy Curry, Anthony Randolph and Corey Brewer to Minnesota to create cap room). There is no denying his offensive abilities, which have led teams like the Los Angeles Clippers and Boston Celtics to be interested.
While this trade is unlikely to happen because Melo wouldn’t fit well in Coach Clifford’s defensive style of play and team oriented system. A big problem in trading for Anthony is his contract.
Knicks president Phil Jackson is determined to find a destination and deal that Anthony would agree to accept before the February 23 National Basketball Association trade deadline, league sources said. They need a third team.
Removing the Celtics from the equation, I could see either the Nets, Sixers, or Suns agreeing to take on Crawford’s salary in exchange for a young player and/or a draft pick.
Second, the Los Angeles Clippers have virtually no assets to trade. And while they shake their heads and wonder in several off-the-record comments about the chaos in the front office above them, they stand by their leader on the record.
The Clippers are hard capped, making it difficult for them to handle a 15 percent trade kicker in Anthony’s contract.
Against Atlanta, the Knicks did something that one could argue they haven’t done all season: played for each other.
Coming with 27 seconds left in the fourth overtime, it was the final tiebreaker in a game that was even 21 times and had 23 lead changes. Anthony is eighth in the league in shots attempted per game (18.52). 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. “As a competitor you want to participate in that weekend, knowing how much fun it is, knowing the importance of kind of being down there, and just enjoying that break, that’s something that I’ll miss the most”.
Advertisement
CJ McCollum scored 28 points and pulled down seven rebounds and Damian Lillard added 19 points and eight assists for the Trail Blazers, who had a chance to win at the end only for Evan Turner’s three-point attempt to fall short. 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.
