New York Knicks' Carmelo Anthony (L) and Cleveland Cavaliers' Kevin Love. (Photo : Reuters)
Old offseason rumors of a possible blockbuster trade between the New York Knicks' Carmelo Anthony and Cleveland Cavaliers' Kevin Love have been gaining ground once more as Knicks officials are reportedly ready to engage in trade talks involving their prized All-Star forward.
NBA writer Zach Lowe recently indicated in a Grantland article that the Knicks are "getting closer" to exploring Anthony trade possibilities as team president Phil Jackson is allegedly keen on rebuilding the team from scratch rather than to form an instant title-contending squad.
As expected, at his age and potential, the 31-year-old, eight-time All-Star would like to spend his prime seasons competing for NBA titles and not leading a bunch of young players while trying to scrape for wins. Also, Carmelo knows that his window of opportunity to win a championship is getting smaller and smaller as the years pass.
With LeBron James and the Cavs, that window will be open and it will be big.
Bleacher Report's Team Stream Now was the first to report the possibility of the Cavs offering their own three-time All-Star to Jackson in exchange for their offensive anchor months ago.
Love also has the potential and skills to thrive in New York's triangle offense as, like Anthony, he is also one of those rare big men that can post up, pass, make plays, and shoot from the outside efficiently.
The 27-year-old former UCLA standout is also younger and more fitting to be the center of a rebuilding squad than Anthony and would more likely benefit from going back to his initial role of being a team's alpha male.
It was obvious that Love had struggled as the third option in David Blatt's system and the potential of playing for Jackson and the promise of winning multiple championships in the process could persuade him to leave LeBron and his crew.
The question is whether Anthony can be humbled enough to accept a lesser role as he would certainly play second fiddle to James once he joins him in Cleveland.
