Carmelo Anthony Rumors: SF Open to Waive No-Trade Clause for Rockets, Cavaliers

The seemingly never-ending storyline of New York Knicks swingman Carmelo Anthony's future took another turn Sunday. 

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported the Syracuse product "is open to waiving his no-trade clause to join the Houston Rockets or Cleveland Cavaliers should those teams create a pathway to a deal."

Wojnarowski noted LeBron James' presence has made a Cleveland a preferred destination for some time for Anthony, while Houston's ability to trade for Chris Paul this offseason has "catapulted" it into contention for the 10-time All-Star.

Anthony's reported willingness to waive the no-trade clause comes less than a week after the Knicks parted ways with team president Phil Jackson. According to Wojnarowski, Jackson was "pushing" for the wing scorer to waive the clause and head elsewhere.

"After Jackson's firing last week, the Knicks have maintained a stance of wanting significant assets back for Anthony in a trade, and have resisted the idea of a contract buyout," Wojnarowski wrote.

Wojnarowski noted New York is looking to avoid committing significant money to older pieces and is hesitant to take on the contract of 29-year-old Houston big man Ryan Anderson, who is owed $61 million over the next three years, in a potential trade involving Anthony.

In addition to the financial concerns, the Knicks already have a big man who can stretch the floor in 21-year-old Kristaps Porzingis.

Still, Anthony's ability to dictate much of this process with his no-trade clause gives the Knicks little leverage in discussions. If Anthony is looking for his first ring in either Houston or Cleveland, he could reject a trade that would send too many assets back to New York and lessen his chances of winning at his next destination.

Even at 33 years old, he can still be a lethal scorer, especially if paired with facilitators such as Paul and James Harden in Houston or James in Cleveland. Anthony scored 22.4 points per game in 2016-17, led the league in scoring as recently as 2012-13 and would be a significant addition for either team in the pursuit of the defending champion Golden State Warriors.