NBA Rumors: DeMarcus Cousins Trying To Recruit Carmelo Anthony To Pelicans, Likely Has Uphill Battle
The Carmelo Anthony saga deepens, with new rumors that DeMarcus Cousins could be recruiting his friend to join the New Orleans Pelicans.
It may be a very difficult task.
It remains very much up in the air where Anthony will be playing next season. It seems apparent that the New York Knicks are ready to move on, and Anthony is as well after an extended falling out with the team’s front office management. The Knicks were deep in trade talks with the Houston Rockets and appeared to be at the goal line last month, but the trade fell apart at the last minute and Anthony remains, at least for now, a member of the New York Knicks.
There may now be a new team in the mix. This week, DeMarcus Cousins clicked “like” on an Instagram picture posted by a Pelicans fan account showing Cousins and Anthony at a practice for the U.S. Men’s Basketball team.
“Olympics reunion in the Big Easy” the caption read.
It’s not clear how active Cousins may be in drawing Carmelo Anthony to New Orleans, but Cousins has told The Times-Picayune that he’s been reaching out to some big-name players this year.
“I’ve reached out to everybody,” Cousins said. “I mean, I don’t want to throw names out there, but some of the biggest names that are on the block right now I’ve reached out to.”
As The Ringer noted, it would be quite a tough sell for Carmelo Anthony to join the Pelicans. For one, Cousins is a free agent after this season and the team is not exactly set up for long-term success in an increasingly competitive Western Conference.
Add Pelicans star DeMarcus Cousins to the list of NBA players who'd like Carmelo Anthony traded to their team: pic.twitter.com/zkr3M5Jb4q
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) August 7, 2017
2017 NBA Trade Rumor: DeMarcus Cousins may be trying to lure Carmelo Anthony to New Orleans https://t.co/nktswlTy0n pic.twitter.com/tfViSxRyJT
— The Bird Writes (@thebirdwrites) August 7, 2017
The Pelicans also have little room in the salary cap, and no incoming or outgoing picks that would very likely be needed in a trade to a New York Knicks team looking to build around Kristaps Porzingis with young talent.
Most of the NBA trade rumors surrounding Carmelo Anthony have remained on the Houston Rockets. Anthony has a no trade clause in his contract and reportedly said he would waive it for only the Rockets or Cleveland Cavaliers, two teams already posed to be top contenders in their respective conferences. For the New Orleans Pelicans to get seriously in the mix, it would likely take quite a turn of the tide.
[Featured Image by Elsa/Getty Images]
