NBA Trade Rumors: Carmelo Anthony Deal Almost Completed, Would Vault Houston Rockets To Top Contender In West


The NBA trade rumors are pointing to a nearly done deal between the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets, sending Carmelo Anthony to Houston and making the Rockets a top contender in an increasingly competitive Western Conference.

The teams have reportedly been in discussions for weeks on a deal, and sources now indicate that they are close to making it happen. The Knicks appeared to be done with Anthony after landing Tim Hardaway Jr., with many close to the team saying the Knicks had no intention of having them on the court together, but finalizing a deal to send Anthony to Houston has been elusive.

Moving Anthony appears to be a top offseason order for the re-tooling Knicks. As ESPN reported, Knicks GM Steve Mills has prioritized the Anthony trade and the team is confident it will be finalized soon.

“On the Anthony front, the Knicks and Anthony feel good about the possibility of completing a deal that sends him out of New York,” according to sources.

The Knicks and Rockets have talked about an Anthony trade recently, with Wojnarowski reporting that “the Rockets have been persistent in their pursuit of Anthony, who is willing to waive his no-trade clause to join Paul and James Harden in Houston and the Knicks do not imagine a scenario where Hardaway is sharing the floor with Anthony to start the season.”

There could already be signs that the deal is close to finally being completed. On Monday, Houston Rockets player Nene posted a picture on Instagram welcoming Carmelo Anthony to the team. Though he would delete the post, some fans captured a screenshot and passed it around as proof that the deal was nearing completion. And Anthony himself is confident that the trade will eventually go through, reports claim.

Once completed, the Carmelo Anthony trade would help the Houston Rockets become one of the top competitors in a Western Conference growing continually stronger. The Rockets already landed Chris Paul and inked James Harden to a record extension, allowing them to keep up with the Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder. Anthony would represent a major improvement over Ryan Anderson, who plays the stretch four position for the Rockets, but is behind Anthony in nearly every measure.

But even amid the signs that the deal is moving forward, the potential trade sending Carmelo Anthony to the Houston Rockets would not be simple to complete, ESPN noted. Given the complexities of the deal it is likely a third team would be needed, and there are not any indications of other teams involved at this point. So while the NBA trade rumors continue to swirl, there may be nothing imminent, ESPN noted.

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