NBA Rumors: Portland Trail Blazers Emerge As ‘Sleeper Team’ In Hunt For Carmelo Anthony
The Portland Trail Blazers have officially entered the Carmelo Anthony sweepstakes, new NBA rumors indicate.
The quest for the New York Knicks forward has stretched well into its second month, with most of the attention still on the Houston Rockets. It seems evident that the All-Star will be playing on a team other than the Knicks last year after his falling out with the team’s front office, but no clear target has emerged in the weeks that the Knicks have been working on a trade for him.
The Knicks and Rockets reportedly neared the goal line on a deal last month, but the trade fell apart at the last minute. There are reports that the two are back to the drawing board, but now a new team has emerged.
Senior ESPN writer Adrian Wojnarowski said on the Ryen Russillo Show that Portland could be a good destination for Anthony, even if most of the attention has been elsewhere.
The Blazers are also making a strong pitch to Anthony, Wojnarowski noted.
“Portland is an interesting team in this because CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard have done a really good of recruiting Carmelo,” Wojnarowkski told Russillo. “They’ve been on him. McCollum is in New York, you saw the video of [McCollum and Anthony] playing pickup. Selling [Anthony] on ‘Hey, look what our team could look like with you.’… but that’s incumbent ultimately on can Portland put a package together that appeals to New York?
“But if they could, then that’s a sleeper team in this to get Carmelo to waive his no-trade because I’m told they’ve piqued Carmelo’s interest at the very least.”
"CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard have done a good job of recruiting Carmelo Anthony, they've been on him." – @wojespn pic.twitter.com/hoM6MnQnN6
— The Will Cain Show (@WillCainShow) August 11, 2017
The Blazers are not the only team making a strong sales pitch to Carmelo Anthony. Earlier this week, New Orleans Pelicans center DeMarcus Cousins re-posted a picture from a team fan account calling on the Pelicans to make a move for Anthony. The two played together on the U.S. Men’s team and have a good rapport, but New Orleans would seem a tough fit for Anthony — especially with Cousins only under contract for another year.
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 Cavaliers have also been rumored to be a team in the hunt for Anthony, but it is not clear if the two teams have actually made any movement on a deal. That would be an interesting landing point, connecting Anthony with LeBron James and strengthening what already appears to be an unstoppable force in the Eastern Conference.
Despite the rumors that the Portland Trail Blazers are entering the trade sweepstakes for Carmelo Anthony, many still see the Rockets as the best fit. Houston is a team on the upswing after extending James Harden’s contract and landing Chris Paul, and there are reports that Anthony has said right now that he will only waive his no-trade clause for the Rockets.
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