Carmelo Anthony Rumors: Jabari Parker To New York In Preliminary Talks For Three-Team Trade
The Carmelo Anthony brouhaha takes a new interesting turn as rumors that Jabari Parker of the Milwaukee Bucks may be involved have surfaced.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN previously reported that the New York Knicks are looking for a three-team trade since the Houston Rockets don’t have enough assets to make a direct trade for Anthony palatable. The most recent development on the Carmelo Anthony situation is that the Milwaukee Bucks has entered the fray. According to Wojnarowski, Bucks forward Jabari Parker has been mentioned in preliminary talks. It is not known, however, who brought up Parker’s name in the potential trade.
If the three-team trade pushes through, Anthony will finally get his wish to play alongside James Harden and Chris Paul at Houston in what could be one of the best triumvirates the NBA have ever seen. New York, meanwhile, will get a young player in Parker with the potential to become its next franchise player. Jabari will have to be packaged with a huge contract to match the salaries and make the trade work.
One player with such a contract that has long been rumored to be on the way out of Milwaukee is Greg Monroe, who is owed $17.88 million this upcoming season. John Henson, who still has three years and over $30 million in his contract, is also a candidate to be traded away from the Bucks. The Rockets, meanwhile, will likely part with Ryan Anderson, a stretch four who is owed $60 million in next three years.
Jabari Parker was mentioned in trade talks involving Melo, per @IanBegley https://t.co/CP0irlUC1y pic.twitter.com/d7AHRPDoc1
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 5, 2017
It remains to be seen how the trade would work since New York is not too keen on receiving another huge contract to add to those signed by underachieving big man Joakim Noah, guard Courtney Lee, and recent re-acquisition Tim Hardaway, Jr., who was given a head-scratching four-year, $71 million contract.
Parker, who’s only 22-years-old, has all the tools to become a superstar in the NBA. He also comes with a cheap contract. Those details make Jabari the perfect catch for New York if it does trade Anthony. The only knack against Parker is his health.
Parker was averaging 20 points, 6 rebounds, and almost 3 assists per game before he went down in February because of a non-contact injury. Jabari suffered a torn ACL in his left knee. This is the same ACL he injured during his first year in the NBA.
There is still a likelihood that Anthony will start the season in a New York jersey. Despite all the efforts by the Knicks to accommodate the wish of Carmelo to be traded to the Rockets, there are just no ample assets from other teams that will push New York to make the trade. Another way for a Carmelo trade to happen is if Anthony waives his no-trade clause so he could go to a team other than Houston.
[Featured Image by Aaron Gash/AP Photo]
