Carmelo Anthony Trade Rumors: Thunder 'Very Much' Want to Part with Star SF

The Oklahoma City Thunder are reportedly expected to explore trade options for small forward Carmelo Anthony if he declines the early-termination option in his contract to remain with the team for the 2018-19 NBA season.

On Monday, Sean Deveney of Sporting News reported OKC would "very much like to find a way to rid" itself of the 10-time All-Star selection.

Anthony is coming off the worst statistical season of his career after joining the Thunder from the New York Knicks as part of a September blockbuster trade.

The 33-year-old New York City native averaged 16.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists while shooting 40.4 percent from the field across 78 appearances. His Player Efficiency Rating (12.7) was significantly below his previous career low in that category (16.7 in 2004-05 with the Denver Nuggets), per Basketball Reference.

His decline in performance playing alongside Russell Westbrook and Paul George would make it a risk to opt out of his current deal, which is slated to pay him $27.9 million next season.

So Anthony will likely choose to stay with the Thunder, but he's already expressed no interest in adjusting his role to potentially improve the team dynamic.

"Yeah, I'm not sacrificing no bench role," Anthony told reporters Saturday. "That's out of the question."

It creates a possibly difficult situation for Oklahoma City, which failed to contend with the Western Conference's elite despite its superstar trio and could lose George in free agency.

The Thunder, who were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Utah Jazz after a 48-34 campaign, will likely struggle to find trade partners for Anthony and his bloated salary for next season.