Targets…rumors…trades…Carmelo Anthony—the NBA’s most disseminated high-profile name stands front and center with the deadline just three weeks away (Feb. 20).
And Melo’s star only became brighter following his record-setting 62-point night at Madison Square Garden.
The New York Knicks’ franchise breadwinner is currently in the second season of a three-year, $64 million deal. It’s one that bears witness to career-best numbers: 42.0 three-point percentage, 84.8 percent from the line, 9.0 rebounds, 0.6 blocks and a 24.9 player efficiency rating.
Anthony is the undeniable all-encompassing basketball universe for the Knicks. He leads New York in points (27.1), rebounds and minutes (39.0) per game, not to mention in total win shares (6.0) and star-power-boosting NBA relevancy.
Unfortunately, Melo possesses the autonomy-creating early-termination option this year (July 1).
In other words, the Knicks essentially own the rights to Anthony for just five more months. Power lies in the marquee veteran’s hands from that point forward.
So in other words to those other words, the Knicks must trade Carmelo Anthony. They simply cannot afford the risk of him walking in free agency without getting anything in return.
Save for an already defunct roster deteriorating even more, and one that would win fewer than 20 games in 2014-2015.
We reckon that it’s time for James Dolan—perhaps the most shortsighted owner in basketball history—to save his already fleeing bacon and entertain a trade.
And there really are only two teams worth mentioning: the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers.
Chicago could pair Anthony with Derrick Rose and immediately form a championship contender. The once legendary but now floundering Lakers are dead-set on doing the same—maximizing Kobe Bryant’s increasingly waning NBA viability in the process.
Senior analyst of Basketball Insiders Tommy Beer posited this hypothetical move:
New York sends: Anthony, PG Raymond Felton, SG Iman Shumpert and $2 million in cash
Chicago sends: SG Jimmy Butler, SG Tony Snell, PF Carlos Boozer, PG Kirk Hinrich, Chicago’s 2014 first-round draft pick and its 2015 second-round pick
There’s little refuting the logistics or overall merits of this trade. It really is logically sound from top to bottom.
New York would begin its future rebuilding process in preparation for a star-laden 2015-16 class of free agents. The Bulls would instantly feature a title-worthy squad while still preserving their substantial draft currency in 2014.
Moreover, the always-reputable NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski adheres to the idea of Melo staying put in New York, but cites Chicago and LA as the sole landing spots outside of the Big Apple.
Sources also tell the Yahoo scribe that the Windy City is a far more likely destination.
But LA has—and will always—remain in play; it has from the very beginning.
The Lakers will have just $37.3 million on the books next season. That affords them a whopping $38 million in salary-cap flexibility. Only four teams have more.
They clearly possess the spending capital needed for a five-year, $129.1 million max contract ($25.8 per) for Anthony.
Even though the Lakers would sill require a point guard, power forward, center and additional bench depth (wow that’s a lot), a Bryant-Anthony duo would vault them back into relevant status.
Plus, “everybody wants to play in Los Angeles,” at least according to a Mamba-like future Hall of Famer.
One way or another, the Bulls and Lakers are the only two teams targeting Melo.
Don’t expect that to change anytime soon.
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