NBA Trade Rumors: Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony To Trail Blazers Is ‘Real Possibility,’ Damian Lillard Says
The NBA trade rumors involving New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony heading to the Portland Trail Blazers could happen, according to two of their players. In recent weeks, the rumor mill has been hot with regard to where the longtime New York All-Star might end up playing next. There have been ongoing reports that Melo wants to join the Cleveland Cavaliers or Houston Rockets, but more recently, the Portland Trail Blazers emerged as a team that also wants to obtain Carmelo. Two of the biggest stars on the Blazers believe it could happen too, and that it would instantly transform them into an elite team.
As Bleacher Report indicated on Wednesday, recent comments made by Portland’s top stars give strong potential to Carmelo Anthony becoming a part of the roster. The Trail Blazers’ backcourt of CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard have been lighting it up as a duo, but unable to get too far into the playoffs. The two star players have also made it no secret that they’d like to add Carmelo to their lineup for a better chance at contending in the Western Conference. The Oregonian‘s Joe Freeman mentioned that McCollum said “I think he’s interested” with regard to the pitch he made Melo about joining the team. However, Damian Lillard told Rip City Radio’s Jay Allen that Carmelo to Portland is “a real possibility.”
McCollum mentioned while on SiriusXM NBA Radio, “If we add Carmelo Anthony we’ll be a top three team in the West immediately.” It’s an interesting statement considering the fact that he believes they’d be up there ahead of either the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, and Oklahoma City Thunder. It’s possible they could be, but tough to know without seeing how Anthony works out with their roster. They would definitely put themselves in a much better position than they were in last year, having just barely edged into the final spot in the Western Conference playoffs bracket.
As it stands, Carmelo makes good sense as a fit for the Houston Rockets, so he could also make sense with the Portland Trail Blazers. Both situations would put Anthony on a starting lineup featuring two talented guards. In Houston, he probably has an even better situation based on the fact that he’d be joining two stellar All-Star playmakers in Chris Paul and James Harden. With Houston, he’d join two All-Star players as well, as both McCollum and Lillard have made the team in the past. The backcourt is one of the top-scoring guard duos in the league and adding a third scoring option makes them that much more of a threat.
Unfortunately for Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, it doesn’t seem that Carmelo Anthony is really that interested in joining their team, at least according to league sources. Adrian Wojnarowski mentioned while on ESPN’s The Jump, “They [Portland] would like for Carmelo to waive his no-trade and go to Portland, but right now, that’s not something Melo’s considering.” So while anything’s possible, right now it appears Melo is much more interested in the other destinations on his short list of teams.
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