NBA Trade Rumors: Cavaliers To Get Carmelo Anthony And Still Keep Kevin Love

Carmelo Anthony is still the hottest NBA star to be mired in trade rumors. However, Anthony holds much of the power when it comes to getting shipped because of the no-trade clause in his contract. So this has made trading him a pretty difficult ordeal for the New York front office. But latest rumors suggests that a new deal might just send Carmelo Anthony to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

According to ESPN, The New York Knicks tried trading Carmelo Anthony to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Kevin Love. This has soundly been rejected by the Cavaliers as it will essentially reboot three years of team chemistry with Kevin Love. The Cavs are one of the few teams that Carmelo Anthony is interested in going to so it was a huge setback for New York. But this one was a no-brainer for the Cavaliers but it was worth a shot for the Knicks.

But new reports from CBS Sports suggests that the talk is not yet over between the Cavaliers and the Knicks. The Cavs are still hoping to get Carmelo Anthony without giving up Kevin Love. The talks are still on and if the Knicks do bite, then the league will be getting another new big four that rivals that of the Golden State Warriors. The Cleveland Cavaliers will consist of Kyrie Irving at point guard, Lebron James at small forward, Carmelo Anthony at the fourth, and Kevin Love going to center position.

The Cavaliers will have one of the best small-ball starting five in the league with this rotation. With Kyle Korver going up in the shooting guard position, virtually all of Cavs’ starting unit will be able to knock down the ball from anywhere. Carmelo Anthony is still one of the best scorers in the NBA today and will punish opposing power forwards on offense. Both Lebron and Carmelo can switch between playing small forward and power forward whatever the need is.

This small ball team will be a headache to opposing teams like the San Antonio Spurs. Carmelo Anthony, Irving, and Lebron can run the floor better than any trio in the NBA. Scoring will not be a problem if Carmelo Anthony is with the Cavs. The isolation heavy Cavs will get another option from Anthony, who is a guy that can both initiate the isolation or be on the receiving end of a Lebron/Kyrie kick-out passes.

Plus, Carmelo Anthony can man the bench from time to time. This will be essential once they reach certain matchups like the Golden State Warriors. If Cleveland can outhustle the Warriors starting five with Thompson as their center, then Anthony can come off the bench and obliterate the thin Warriors second unit.

However, the risks of getting Carmelo Anthony might be too much for the Cavaliers. In order to pull this trade off, the Cavs might have to give up J.R Smith, Iman Shumpert, and another player. This will essentially gut their roster and might prove to be a costly mistake for the defending champs. Another thing to take note is that the Knicks might have more desirable trade options with the Celtics and the Clippers, which are two teams that Carmelo Anthony is reportedly willing to waive off his no-trade clause.

Another issue is the Knicks staying firm with their demand of Kevin Love. While the two are in talks, there is no sign from the New York front office that they are backing off their demand for Love in exchange for Carmelo Anthony.

Carmelo Anthony is on the way out of New York. The team is pretty desperate to ship Carmelo so they can start rebuilding from his massive contract. Carmelo Anthony is not the future of New York anymore and the Knicks are looking for pieces to surround their budding star Kristaps Porzingis. The Knicks are a bit desperate to unload Carmelo Anthony at this point and the Cleveland Cavaliers can very well take advantage.

[Featured Image by Julie Jacobson/AP Images]