The Carmelo Anthony trade drama may possibly end in a sad ending for him. The deal was reported to fail, as New York Knicks management halted the multi-team trade negotiation on Friday, July 14.
In the latest update of this possible blockbuster trade, the New York Post reported that the New York Knicks left the negotiation on Friday, without any deal with the Houston Rockets. The Knicks management decided to keep Anthony on the roster rather than sending him to Houston.
New York Knicks acting president Steve Mills was also reported to persuade Anthony to expand his choices beyond the Houston Rockets and Cleveland Cavaliers, in order to get a better deal for the Knicks. However, the 33-year-old player is only willing to waive his no-trade-clause with either the Rockets or Cavaliers.
The complexity of this multi-team deal has hindered Anthony’s expectation to have Toyota Center as his home stadium. The trade negotiation, which also involved the Portland Trail Blazers, was reported to end because the Trail Blazers did not want to include their center, Meyers Leonard, as a part of the deal. On the other hand, the New York Knicks wanted to have the 7’1? center in Madison Square Garden to strengthen their front court. Subsequently, the Knicks left the negotiation table.
The management decision to walk out of the trade talk made Anthony really frustrated. Especially, the trade discussion has taken over a month, and he had a really high expectation of joining James Harden and Chris Paul in Houston.
Looking good @CP3 ???????? #CP3DAY pic.twitter.com/Sv5hGU7mGa
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) July 14, 2017
Harden himself also expected Anthony to join the Rockets, forming the new Big Three and becoming a serious title contender to take on the Golden State Warriors in the 2017-18 season. Harden said that having Anthony in Houston would be a tremendous help for the Rockets. Unfortunately, as the deal is now off the table, there will be no “Big Three” in the Houston Rockets, but “The Beard” is still optimistic of the current roster.
“What we have right now in our locker room is pretty good,” Harden said.
Following the failed deal with Houston Rockets, the Knicks will definitely offer two options to Anthony. The first one is to convince Anthony to stay in Madison Square Garden, which he will possibly decline. The other option is to persuade him to widen his option to other teams that will give a better trade offer for the Knicks.
[Featured Image by Nick Laham/Getty Images]
