NBA Trade Rumors: Damian Lillard Doesn’t Seem Too Optimistic About Melo Wanting To Join Forces
After the Kyrie Irving trade went down, Carmelo Anthony is the only star left on the books. It is becoming likely that Carmelo Anthony will be the only star this offseason to stay on his current team.
After several reports stated that Anthony would be elsewhere, he is still in New York. Melo has a lot of interest from several teams throughout the league.
Trading Melo isn’t an easy process; unlike other stars, Melo has a no-trade clause, meaning that he needs to waive his trade clause in order for the team to have permission to trade him. According to reports, the only team that Anthony would waive his no-trade clause for is the Houston Rockets. Both teams have been engaged in trade talks for over two months now, but they haven’t advanced on any deals. Houston and New York are struggling to get this deal done because they cannot find a third team to make it work.
The Rockets aren’t the only team who’s in on Melo; the Portland Trailblazers made it known that they want Anthony. The Trailblazers’ back court, Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, have been working on getting Melo to waive his no-trade clause since last month. McCollum even played pick-up ball with Melo over the summer.
Melo hasn’t expressed that he wants to be in a Portland uniform like he did with Houston. Lillard talked to the Undefeated about him recruiting Melo, and he didn’t see “any trade in sight.”
“Lillard said that he spoke to New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony about the possibility of waiving his no-trade clause to be dealt to Portland, but doesn’t see any trade in sight.
“Lillard said that Anthony “didn’t seem opposed” to the idea of playing for the Blazers when they spoke.”
Anthony returning to the Knicks seems more likely after not hearing any advanced talks with any team in the NBA. Training camp starts in two weeks with the Knicks.
Even though camp is two weeks away, Lillard told the Undefeated he’s not giving up on Melo.
“I’m not giving up on anything. I just think I’ve done what I can do.”
[Featured Image by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images]
