NBA Trade Rumors: LeBron James Talks Carmelo Anthony Deal Between Knicks, Cavs
NBA trade rumors have LeBron James weighing in on all the Carmelo Anthony trade chatter. It’s no secret that James wants the Cleveland Cavaliers to add another playmaker before the NBA trade deadline, with many analysts and basketball fans taking to social media to link the Cavs to Anthony. It has even resulted in quite a few Carmelo Anthony-for-Kevin Love trade rumors.
A report by the New York Daily News quotes James, who made some pre-game comments about his friend. The Cavaliers play the Knicks on Saturday (Feb. 4) in a game that could be used to showcase players who might be playing for different teams by the time the NBA trade deadline rolls around. In addition to Anthony possibly getting dealt, the Knicks could also trade point guards Brandon Jennings and Derrick Rose.
“I just want the best for my brother. And whatever case may rest for his future, if he’s here or elsewhere, I just want him to be happy”
It’s a non-committal answer from James, but he has stated in the past that he would like to play with Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul at some point in his career. That statement alone led to its own rumors, as Paul is a free agent at the end of the current NBA season, possibly giving him a chance to leave the L.A. Clippers.
More noteworthy than any of the NBA trade rumors is what LeBron James had to say about the relationship between Carmelo Anthony and New York Knicks team president Phil Jackson. James already has an adversarial relationship with Jackson, due to comments that the former coach of the L.A. Lakers and Chicago Bulls made in an interview. A previous report by ESPN covered how Jackson called the people around James a “posse” and how James did not take it well. It gives some background for his answer about Anthony and Jackson.
“It’s not for me comment on. Like I said, I can’t really comment on somebody else’s relationship. I can only give my advice and words of encouragement (to Carmelo). It’s like if you’re trying to comment on somebody else’s marriage. You’re not with them every day. You don’t know what they’re going through. You don’t where the communication broke down, so you can’t comment on that. That’s what (journalists) do. I just want the best for him. And I want him to be happy playing the game he loves. If it’s here great. If it’s not, then great as here as well.”
James definitely didn’t pull any punches while giving a non-specific answer to the question. At the end of the day, though, it has been very clear that James would like the Cleveland Cavaliers to figure out a way to land Anthony on the roster. There have been a number of NBA trade rumors suggesting that Phil Jackson was pressing for a deal that involved swapping Anthony for Kevin Love, but it is something that the front office (smartly) was not interested in doing. Love has become an extremely important component of the Cavs over the past two seasons.
For anything to take place between the Cavs and Knicks, a third team would be needed in this equation. The Cavs would likely be willing to take on Anthony and his salary if they were able to keep LeBron James, Kevin Love, and Kyrie Irving on the roster. It would give the team a big-four to go up against Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Kevin Durant, and Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors. Without that third team, this will all just boil down to NBA trade rumors that get set aside once reality hits for all the players involved.
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