The NBA trade rumors rumble with the Carmelo Anthony saga and new players could actually emerge.
Of course, everything is limited by Melo's no-trade clause but it seems that the Knicks are bent on trading him according to The Vertical senior writers Adrian Wojnarowski and Chris Mannix.
Knicks president Phil Jackson is determined to find a destination and deal that Anthony would agree to accept before the Feb. 23 NBA trade deadline, league sources said.
Jackson is determined to rid the roster of Anthony and his contract, and start rebuilding around Kristaps Porzingis, league sources said.
On that note the Oklahoma City Thunder was brought up as a team that could take interest in Carmelo Anthony. They do have a glaring hole in the small forward spot that they have never been able to fill, and one of the targets that they have in a trade fell injured and is not an option anymore (that's Rudy Gay of the Sacramento Kings).
According to Anthony DiMoro of Forbes, there are reports that OKC is intrigued with Anthony being paired with their MVP candidate Russell Westbrook but how could they acquire him?
"While the idea of a Westbrook/Anthony pairing would excite any Thunder fan, is it feasible? As with any NBA trade, financials have to match and, of course, the Thunder need to offer something that the Knicks would deem valuable in return for Anthony," DiMoro asked.
The proposal: "They could start by offering Enes Kanter who is currently playing power forward and could be paired alongside Knicks star Kristaps Porzingis to form one formidable front court. Kanter, who is 24 years old, brings $17.5 million to the trade table, leaving a lot more left for the Thunder to make any trade for Anthony make financial sense."
The question here would be if the Thunder are willing to give up Victor Oladipo. He is probably the player of value outside of Westbrook and his touches would definitely be limited by Anthony's presence (Westbrook is ball-heavy as it is).
However, all this maneuvering would be for naught if Anthony refuses to relocate to Oklahoma. He still holds the cards because of his no-trade clause-possibly Phil Jackson's big regret.