NBA Trade Rumors: Carmelo Anthony Still Likely Headed To Houston Rockets, But May Start Season In New York

The NBA trade rumors were running at a breakneck speed this summer after the Knicks very put Carmelo Anthony on the block, but talk has grown quiet as the season approaches with indications that Anthony will likely start the season in New York.

That doesn’t mean a trade is out of the works, however, and there are indications that the All-Star forward will still end up with the Houston Rockets.

For now, there are indications that Anthony would be prepared to start the season at Madison Square Garden. The Daily Knick reported that Carmelo Anthony has been keeping tabs on his teammates competing in EuroBasket 2017, and has already participated in some “highly publicized pickup games” with his teammates this offseason. It’s not clear if these relationships will be enough to convince Carmelo to stay on the Knicks this season, the report added, but it does seem enough to get him started in New York.

“The question is: Have Hernangomez, Kuzminskas, and Porzingis done enough to convince Anthony to stay with the Knicks in 2017-18?” the report posed.

It has seemed clear throughout the summer that the Knicks are committed to trading Anthony, even if they have difficulty bringing a deal to completion. There were reports that the Knicks and Houston Rockets were near the finish line on a deal in July, but it fell apart at the last minute. The teams engaged in some further discussions in the next two weeks, but the trade talk then went quiet.

There are new indications that they are at the trade table again.

REPORT: Carmelo Anthony has 'engaged' with #Knicks teammates before training camp.https://t.co/ekoTTDR7S3

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) September 9, 2017

Ian Begley of ESPN reported that the Milwaukee Bucks have joined the discussions between the Knicks and Rockets, with Jabari Parker becoming part of the trade that would ultimately send Anthony to Houston. When the Knicks and Rockets discussed a deal the first time around, they needed a third team to join the mix and help alleviate the Rockets of Ryan Anderson’s contract, which ended up one of the main sticking points that made the trade fall apart.

Hoodie Melo. Believe the hype! @carmeloanthony pic.twitter.com/l1HNZFx4la

— Scottie Pippen (@ScottiePippen) September 8, 2017

So while the NBA trade rumors indicate that Carmelo Anthony will eventually find his way to the Houston Rockets this year, the trade may not come together until after the season has already started.

[Featured Image by Al Bello/Getty Images]