NBA Trade Rumors: Carmelo Anthony Heading To The Memphis Grizzlies, Tony Allen Going To The Lakers

Carmelo Anthony has been in the trade rumor mills lately and probably won’t stop until the trade deadline has passed. And with a player of Carmelo Anthony’s caliber, it is no wonder that fans around the league would want the ultimate scorer on their team.

Carmelo Anthony has been linked with several teams like the Cavaliers and the Los Angeles Clippers. While those are fine destinations for Anthony, a new contender is now rumored to be in the running for Carmelo, and that is the Memphis Grizzlies. This comes from a report by Fox Sports.

Carmelo Anthony has already stated that he will only waive his no-trade clause if he is shipped to a contender. While the Memphis Grizzlies are currently in seventh place in the Western Conference picture, the team could easily go up to the fourth spot with just a few wins.

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The Memphis Grizzlies have a solid core of Marc Gasol, Zac Randolph, and Mike Conley. Adding Carmelo Anthony to that team will certainly give the team a huge bump when it comes to their playoff chances. Memphis is already sporting one of the beefiest frontcourt in the NBA and adding Carmelo Anthony at the small forward position will fortify their bully ball persona.

While most people will dismiss this team as eventual victims of the Golden State Warriors, a Carmelo Anthony-led Memphis Grizzlies is bad news for Steph and the crew. First, the Warriors will have to deal with the massive size of the Grizzlies, and bigs are the only known vulnerability of the Warriors. Second, Carmelo Anthony will give the Grizzlies a scoring punch that it has been lacking for the past seasons. Offense is the only thing that is holding back the Grizzlies to become true championship contenders and Carmelo Anthony is the perfect guy to fill that void.

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The steady rise of Mike Conley as a scoring threat will also take a load off Carmelo’s scoring duties. Plus, the frontcourt of Gasol and Randolph makes it unnecessary for Anthony to move to the power forward slot and bang bodies with the other bruisers. Carmelo Anthony can keep still at small forward, not worry too much about rebounding, and continue getting more mismatches at that position.

Executing the trade itself is the trickiest part. The Knicks would have to absorb Chandler Parson’s massive contract if they want to release Carmelo Anthony. And Parsons is having a really bad season and seems more interested in social media beefs than improving his game. However, if they are really adamant about doing that, then maybe getting a few future picks and the expiring contract of Vince Carter might just do the trick.

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Carmelo Anthony is a phenomenal athlete but his days as a Knick is definitely numbered. While Anthony would probably want to play with the likes of Lebron James and Chris Paul, the rosters of those teams are pretty locked with their salary cap situations. Unfortunately for Carmelo, those teams are also unwilling to give their biggest stars for someone who is yet to prove himself to be a winner. Carmelo Anthony might have to accept the middle ground which is the Memphis Grizzlies.

Elsewhere the Lakers are rumored to be engaging in serious talks with the Memphis Grizzlies to acquire the services of Tony Allen. It is no secret that the Los Angeles Lakers front office are desperate to salvage this season just to save Jim Buss’ job. It is well documented that the Lakers’ executive vice president of basketball operations made some promises a few years ago about being contenders that have not yet materialized. The Lakers are at the bottom of the pile and need a miracle to salvage this season.

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According to SB Nation, Tony Allen is being heavily shopped around by the Grizzlies and the Lakers are said to be biting. The Lakers probably want some defensive presence at the guard position as a way to help the talented guards in the roster gain some defensive intensity. Seems like a great move for the future, but unfortunately this won’t make much of an impact now. The Lakers will probably have a disastrous season yet again.

The trade deadline is fast approaching and fans better stay tuned if Carmelo Anthony and Tony Allen are really going to be moved.

[Featured Image by Danny Johnston/AP Images]