Carmelo Anthony

New York Knicks: Trading Carmelo Anthony Is Harder Than It Seems

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 12:10 p.m. ET

Fansided, Sunder Bedi/FanSided via Daily Knicks

As the Carmelo Anthony trade saga continues to heat up, it’s important to understand how difficult it will be to trade the New York Knicks star.

The discussion as to whether or not Carmelo Anthony will be traded is growing in the NBA. Some New York Knicks fans want Anthony to be traded and some believe he can still bring a championship to The Mecca.

If Phil Jackson elects to trade Anthony before February’s trade deadline, it will be a difficult task to accomplish.

Anthony has a no trade clause structured in the contract he signed in 2014. Having such a clause makes it harder for a team to move an NBA player. Anthony would have to approve any trade involving him before it goes through.

While he grows older, his chance to win a championship grows smaller. Knowing this, he wouldn’t have any interest in playing for rebuilding teams such as Philadelphia or Phoenix.

If Anthony is open to a trade, he would have an interest in teams who have championship aspirations such as the Los Angeles Clippers or Cleveland Cavaliers. These teams may not be able to meet the high price tag Jackson will have for Anthony.

Chances, Jackson will be looking for multiple draft picks and quality young players who will be a part of the future.

One team that has championship aspirations and has a ton of assets is the Boston Celtics. Boston has plenty of draft picks, including the Brooklyn Nets’ first-round pick for the next two years.

Those picks would translate to lottery picks as Brooklyn appears to be one of the poorer teams of the Eastern Conference for years to come.

In addition, Boston has quality young players with plenty of potential (who may be available) such as Marcus Smart and Jae Crowder.

However, Boston’s style of offense revolves around ball movement. Boston averages 25.0 assists per game—good for No. 3 in the NBA. Adding a player like Anthony would jeopardize their style of play on offense. Anthony is third in terms of how frequently he runs isolation plays.

In fact, many of the elite teams have an offense that revolves around team ball, thus making it hard for Anthony to fit in.

Hopefully, the situation will have a resolution and the New York Knicks can focus on turning their season around. This situation is a distraction to the team.