Is Carmelo Anthony leaving the Knicks? The NBA trade deadline is just hours away, so the chatter has certainly picked up with regards to trade rumors. Three teams in search of players to upgrade their rosters are the New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, and Oklahoma City Thunder. Each of the teams features at least one major star, but none of these squads have enough to contend for a title at this point. Could any of the franchises move their big stars ahead of today’s trade deadline, or will they make different moves? Here’s a look at some of the latest trade talk for each of these teams.
The majority of Chicago Bulls NBA trade rumors have been focused on one man, Jimmy Butler. While the talks about Butler have been ongoing this past week, there is another player being mentioned as a possible trade candidate from the Windy City to the “land of Westbrook.”
According to an ESPN report via Marc Stein on Thursday, the Oklahoma City Thunder, a team that has been relatively quiet during the most recent trade rumors talk, is interested in acquiring Gibson for their team. OKC is certainly in need of help for Russell Westbrook, and bringing in Gibson would probably shift Domantas Sabonis over to the bench.
The Thunder are frequently good for a Deadline Day surprise and league sources say Chicago’s Taj Gibson has emerged as an OKC trade target.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 23, 2017
Gibson would bring averages of 11.6 points, and seven rebounds to the lineup. He currently leads the team in rebounding and is in third in scoring behind stars Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade. It’s unknown at this point what the Bulls might receive in exchange for Gibson, but most likely the two teams would make a swap to improve their playoff chances in their respective conferences.
Speaking of the Chicago Bulls, they’ve been mentioned in rumors with a few other players beyond Taj Gibson and Jimmy Butler. The team was brought up in a tweet from Mike Ortiz Jr of DYST Now mentioning a possible trade for Philadelphia’s Jahlil Okafor. The Bulls would be giving up Doug McDermott and Nikola Mirotic in return, per Ortiz Jr.’s tweet. It’s always possible that Chicago, OKC, and Philly could make some sort of three-team deal, as well.
Sources: Doug McDermott and Nikola Mirotic are the names that continue to come up in the Bulls discussions for Jahlil Okafor with Philly.
— Mike Ortiz Jr. (@TrustOrtiz) February 23, 2017
The million dollar question over the course of NBA trade rumors season has been, “Will the Knicks trade Carmelo Anthony?” To do so would require Melo to waive a no-trade clause in his contract. Despite all the exhausting media questioning and possible tricks from Phil Jackson or the Knicks management to make Melo waive it, there’s been no word of him doing so, as of this report.
As ESPN ‘s Ian Begley recently stated , Carmelo said he was “feeling relaxed as the trade deadline approached.”
“If something is going to happen it’s going to happen. I haven’t heard anything as of right now, so that’s not something that I’m concerned about.”
The “Melo drama” and trade rumors have persisted throughout the latest season as the New York Knicks have struggled. Despite bringing in former NBA MVP and All-Star Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, the team is still fighting to gain a low seed in the playoff picture. At 23-34, the team is at the No. 12 spot in the Eastern Conference and is sitting behind the Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat, and Milwaukee Bucks. All four teams are fighting to gain at least the No. 8 spot, currently held onto by the 27-30 Detroit Pistons.
With that said, as of 3 p.m. Eastern Time, players will either be able to relax a bit more or will be busy packing their bags. There’s still several hours left in which teams can swing deals, and last minute trades in the NBA are never out of the question.
Basketball fans, will Carmelo Anthony stay in New York as of the trade deadline, or will a major trade hit before 3 p.m. Eastern Time? Should the Bulls and OKC make a trade, or will Chicago go for Philly’s Jahlil Okafor?
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