Knicks Rumors: 5 Reasons Why Carmelo Anthony Won't Be in Deadline Deal

Early this morning, Marc Berman of the New York Post reported that New York Knicks superstar Carmelo Anthony wanted to be traded. Shortly afterward, Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reported that he had spoken to Anthony's agent, Leon Rose, and that Rose had refuted all reports of the New York native being dealt, calling Berman's report "laughable."

Thinking about it now, there really isn't any reason that the Knicks should trade Anthony. They gave up a lot to get him and invested a lot of money in him being the man to lead the team back to prominence, so it's truly silly to think that just because he may be the reason Mike D'Antoni resigned as coach is enough reason to trade him by tomorrow's deadline.

Here are five reasons as to why come tomorrow afternoon, 'Melo will stay right where he is.

No. 5: His Contract

Anthony is due to make $18.5 million this year, what would have been the final year of his contract had he stayed with the Denver Nuggets and not opted out following last season.  Upon being traded to the Knicks, he signed a three-year extension worth $65 million.

No matter how many players are exchanged in a particular deal, that's still a lot of money for one team to take on in the event that Melo would be available. As good as he is, those numbers are enough to scare any GM away.

No. 4: His Ego

Though ESPN's Stephen A. Smith has reported that Anthony was not the primary reason Mike D'Antoni resigned today, one cannot help but wonder, especially after seeing how Jerry Sloan fell out with Deron Williams last season and soon resigned after 23 years coaching the Utah Jazz.

There's no way to prove that Anthony was behind D'Antoni's resignation, but the circumstances are sketchy enough to the point where his ego is going to be considered a red flag even if he is on the block.

No. 3: He's a New York Native

Anthony may have spent most of his childhood in Baltimore, even going to high school there before attending Syracuse University, but he lived in Brooklyn for the first eight years of his life. Thus, he considers himself a New Yorker.

As a former athlete who had delusional thoughts about going pro, I can tell you that the dream of playing for your hometown team is something every athlete has. If you get to actually do it, I can imagine it must be the greatest feeling in the world.

Thus, despite the circumstances, the Knicks would be pretty cruel to take that away from Anthony.

No. 2: He Came to New York to Win

One of the reasons Anthony wanted to come to the Knicks in the first place was so that he could play with his good friend, Amar'e Stoudemire. He felt that together, they could help bring the Knicks back to prominence and, if everything fell into place, win a championship together.

They took a big step forward last year in getting the Knicks back to the playoffs, and they were doing pretty well against the Boston Celtics up until both Stoudemire and Chauncey Billups went down with injuries. Thus, Anthony hasn't met his goal yet, and given how he has flat-out asked the team not to trade him, it's reasonable to believe that he'll still be in New York come deadline time.

No. 1: Because He's Carmelo Anthony!

No matter how you look at it, Carmelo Anthony is still a great player. Ever since being drafted third overall by the Denver Nuggets in 2003, he has averaged 24.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.

His numbers have taken a bit of a dive this year, but he has still been solid with 21.3 points and 5.9 boards per contest. I'm sorry, but no matter how bad a season your team may be having or how much "drama" there may be, you don't just trade away numbers like that.