NBA Trade Rumors: Oklahoma City Thunder Could Now Have The Inside Track In Landing Carmelo Anthony
The NBA trade rumors are working overtime this week, with the Oklahoma City Thunder emerging seemingly out of nowhere as a major contender for Carmelo Anthony’s services.
The New York Knicks have put their All-Star forward on the trade block and had worked for weeks on a deal with the Houston Rockets only to see it fall apart at the last second. It still appears to be a certainty that Anthony will be on a new team last year — the Knicks sent a huge offer sheet to Tim Hardaway Jr. that all but ensures he is gone — but the destination now seems very unclear.
There were reports that the Rockets still remained a top contender, but this week new rumors put the Oklahoma City among the teams in pursuit of Carmelo Anthony. On Monday, Bill Simmons of The Ringer reported that Anthony and the Thunder were “circling each other” and that the team had a strong connection to Carmelo. As CBS Sports noted, the team’s general manager, Troy Weaver, was an assistant at Syracuse University and was actually the one who recruited Anthony to the Orange, where he won a national title as a freshman before jumping to the NBA.
If the rumors are true, it would create a powerhouse in Oklahoma City and the biggest contender to unseat the Golden State Warriors as top in the Western Conference. The Thunder have already been active this offseason, landing All-Star forward Paul George to go along with MVP Russell Westbrook, and Anthony would add another potent scoring option.
Have a scoop – OKC and Carmelo are officially circling each other. OKC's Troy Weaver recruited Melo to Cuse + has known him since DMV days.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) July 24, 2017
Before the rumors that the Oklahoma City Thunder had jumped into the mix, there were only two teams considered to be in close consideration for Carmelo Anthony — the Rockets and Cleveland Cavaliers. Those were the two teams that Anthony was reportedly willing to waive his no trade clause for, though the Cavs did not appear to be very deep in talks for Anthony.
[Featured Image by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images]
