NBA Trade Rumors: Latest Rumblings on Kristaps Porzingis, Carmelo Anthony, More

The New York Knicks made the playoffs for 14 straight seasons between 1988 and 2001 and reached the NBA Finals twice.

Since the 2001-2002 campaign, the Knicks have qualified for the postseason just four times and made the second round only once. Their record in the last four years is 117-211.

Change is clearly needed. It's just a matter of who and when.

Here's a look at a few recent Knicks rumors and some analysis.

Kristaps Porzingis

On Friday, May 5, Ian Begley of ESPN reported the following on New York Knicks star forward Kristaps Porzingis:

"Several teams reached out to the New York Knicks to talk about possible trades for Kristaps Porzingis in the days after he skipped his exit meeting with team president Phil Jackson and general manager Steve Mills, league sources told ESPN."

Today, Begley followed up with quotes from Porzinigis' brother, Janis:

"Kris wants to stay in New York; he feels at home there. There is no question about it. The only thing he wants is for the Knicks to create an environment where he can develop and grow as a player and win," Janis Porzingis said in an interview with ESPN. "If he were traded, he would play out his contract and head into free agency, where he can choose his own destiny."

The Knicks second-year forward averaged 18.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.0 blocks during a tumultuous season in which he dealt with injuries while needless off-court drama played out in the tabloids. It was an impressive sophomore campaign given the tough environment he dealt with on a daily basis.

Certainly, playing in a triangle offense with a team that seemed disinterested in running it (as well as personnel not suited to orchestrate it) didn't help, nor did the fact that KP was playing with a shoot-first point guard in Derrick Rose.

Porzingis turns just 22 years old on August 2. He's the future of the franchise and has All-NBA Team potential. The Knicks front office needs to build around him immediately.

Therefore, it's clear that the best route is to patch up the relationship with KP as fast as possible and take Janis Porzinigis' advice to heart. Trading him would be a terrible decision.

Carmelo Anthony

Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks seem headed for an inevitable divorce given everything that played out this past season.

Anthony has a no-trade clause in his contract, although he has the option to waive it if he so chooses. He said on January 16 that he wasn't considering doing so, but if the right deal to a team Melo approves falls into place, then one has to wonder if Anthony will change his mind.

The Miami Heat, who were one of the best teams in the entire NBA during the second half of the regular season and look primed to make a playoff run next year, could theoretically be a possibility.

However, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald shot down any potential of Melo heading to South Beach.

"One person in touch with the Heat said he does not expect a Heat pursuit of Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony, who’s available via trade.

"One reason is the onerous cap hits. According to cap expert/heathoops.com writer Albert Nahmad, because of an $8.1 million trade kicker, Anthony’s cap hits would be $30.3 million next season and $27.9 million the following if he’s traded before July 1."

The Miami Heat, per HoopsHype, have over $65 million tied up in players through the 2019-20 season. They could perhaps fit Melo in, but on the other hand, it might be best for the Heat to work with the core that went 30-11 to finish the regular season.

The team most connected to Anthony this year in trade rumors has been the Los Angeles Clippers. The chatter was so loud that Melo even addressed it in March.

Marc Berman of the New York Post wrote how a possible Clippers-Knicks trade involving Anthony could happen.

"According to some league executives, the only deal that makes sense for both sides is packaging Redick, combo guard Austin Rivers and adding wing man Wesley Johnson for financial purposes in exchange for Anthony and perhaps one of the Knicks’ two second-round picks in next month’s draft. At the trade deadline, the Clippers’ offer of Rivers and 37-year-old Jamal Crawford was turned down by the Knicks."

Let's say, hypothetically, that this deal was on the table for the Knicks and Anthony approved of a move to the Clippers. If you were Knicks President of Basketball Operations Phil Jackson, would you make the trade?

On one hand, the Clippers are getting the better side of the deal. Anthony may be past his prime, but he just averaged 22.4 points per game last year. He probably has a few more years where he can be an effective scorer posting 20-plus a night.

Redick is the main attraction in the Clips' package. He is a solid outside shooter who just averaged 15.0 points per game while making 42.9 percent of his three-pointers.

However, Rivers and Johnson had subpar seasons, with the former finishing tied for 299th in the NBA player efficiency rating and the latter slotting in at 411th, per Basketball-Reference. To put those numbers in perspective, 486 players stepped on an NBA court this year.

On the other hand, the Knicks have probably reached their ceiling with Anthony as their superstar, and he's clearly upset with the front office (and rightfully so). It's probably best for both sides to part ways and start fresh.

If I was Jackson, I'd shop around for a better deal, but if nothing else exists, I'd make the move and build around Porzingis, center Willy Hernangomez and this year's first-round draft pick, which will likely be a point guard given the depth and talent at that position.