5 NBA Teams That Could Convince Carmelo Anthony to Waive No-Trade Clause
It's tough to tell how seriously the New York Knicks have considered moving Kristaps Porzingis. Trade talks have reportedly taken place, but a source told ESPN's Dave McMenamin that New York's asking price has been "ridiculous."
And as Bleacher Report's Yaron Weitzman points out, surviving draft night without a trade doesn't mean the drama in N.Y. is going away.
Mystery remains over Porzingis' situation, but there's no such conundrum with the Knicks' feelings on Carmelo Anthony. Phil Jackson has constantly tried showing the 33-year-old All-Star the door.
But the Knicks president doesn't control this situation. Anthony is one of the few NBA players in possession of a no-trade clause, and it sounds like he has no intentions of going anywhere.
"We've expressed the fact that we haven't been successful and it might be time for (Carmelo) to find an opportunity to go somewhere else," Jackson said, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. "He's come back and said he'd just as soon stay."
If Anthony wants to be in the Big Apple that badly, it's his call. But it's fun to imagine his Hall of Fame game on a team that doesn't alienate 21-year-old unicorns and actually makes postseason appearances every now and then.
Still, he needs convincing to leave. If he's willing to listen, these five clubs could make the right pitch.
Boston Celtics
1 of 5
Remember the last time the Knicks or the Denver Nuggets—Anthony's initial NBA employer—won anything of substance? Me neither.
The Boston Celtics, on the other hand, have raised 17 championship banners in their history, most recently in 2008. This season, they paced the Eastern Conference in wins (53) and finished three victories shy of an NBA Finals berth.
If that level of success doesn't make Anthony salivate, then Boston's impressive asset collection should.
Its mini-mountain of picks and prospects is essentially a collection of lottery tickets, except they're all guaranteed to yield some type of prize. Of more immediate importance to Melo, the Celtics have a coaching superstar in Brad Stevens and an opening in the Shamrocks' next Big Three alongside Isaiah Thomas and Al Horford.
Anthony has previously expressed a willingness to waive his no-trade clause to join the Celtics, a source told Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.
And while Boston seems more focused on other stars—Gordon Hayward and Blake Griffin are top targets, according to The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski—the coaching staff reportedly wanted Anthony at the trade deadline, a source told Marc Berman of the New York Post.
If the Celtics miss out on their preferred players and Anthony isn't miffed about being Plan D, this could make a lot of sense.
Boston needs a self-sufficient scorer to relieve some of the burden on Thomas, and Anthony stands to benefit from the defensive protection and quality of shots the Celtics could provide.
Cleveland Cavaliers
2 of 5
If Anthony bought in to the perfect role he could fill for the Cleveland Cavaliers, he might bear a striking resemblance to the hoops superhero known as Olympic Carmelo.
He'd be the third option, while also possessing the 14th-highest career scoring average in NBA history (24.8 points per game).
He could feast on the shots created by LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, as Anthony played last season without a competent creator and still had the fifth-highest effective field-goal percentage on spot-up shots (62.0) among players who averaged three-plus attempts.
An Anthony-James frontcourt would offer the amorphous, position-less makeup to combat the hyper-versatile Golden State Warriors. The more time the 33-year-old plays at the 4 the better, as he's strong enough to survive in the post and too quick for bigger defenders on the perimeter.
A move to Northeast Ohio would demand the biggest adjustment in play style—and lifestyle—but Anthony's bond with his 2003 draft classmate could convince him it's worth it.
"I think they love one another," said Mike Krzyzewski, who has coached James and Anthony with the U.S. national team, per Bleacher Report's Howard Beck. "It's so damn genuine, and it's so cool to see...They have each others' back, on everything."
As an added bonus, playing with James essentially equates to automatic entry into the NBA Finals. Considering Anthony has never been to the championship, only twice escaped the first round and has been locked out of the playoffs since 2013, that has to be tempting.
Los Angeles Clippers
3 of 5
With both Anthony and the Los Angeles Clippers in need of a shakeup, they should each view a potential partnership as mutually beneficial.
Anthony would again join forces with a close friend in Chris Paul, who made a speech at Anthony's 2010 wedding. But Melo might find LA's offense more comfortable. No Clippers scored more than his 22.4 points per game, so he could be their top scorer. And the player who averaged the third-most isolations per game (5.3) would join the team that ran the second-most (11.3).
From L.A.'s end, Anthony would bring change without abandoning hopes of this core competing for a title.
If he could arrive on the West Coast for a package centered around a J.J. Redick sign-and-trade—a scenario USA Today's Sam Amick reported is possible—Anthony could simultaneously bulk the Clippers up to a Big Four and end their exhaustive search for a small forward.
If Blake Griffin has to be the odd man out, L.A. could still come out ahead even if it's losing the younger, more talented player.
"Griffin is a superior playmaker, but Anthony is a better shooter from long range," The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor wrote. "Improving floor spacing would create more room for Paul to probe and [DeAndre] Jordan to roll."
Anthony typically produces when he shares the floor with a shrewd floor general. His highest player efficiency rating came alongside Jason Kidd in 2012-13 (24.8), and his third-highest came with Chauncey Billups at the helm (22.2).
Paul is at another level, though, and it's possible he could elevate Anthony further. If nothing else, the two could spearhead L.A.'s recruiting efforts with LeBron in 2018.
Miami Heat
4 of 5
The Miami Heat might appear an awkward destination for a 33-year-old star since they weren't even a playoff participant this season. But they were juggernauts over the final three months, trailing only the world champion Golden State Warriors in wins (30) and net efficiency rating (plus-6.4).
As Greg Cote of the Miami Herald noted, that late-season surge suggests the Heat are positioned to make a major win-now move:
"A Heat team that ended the season with a 30-11 second half...is close enough to being as good as any team not named Golden State that adding one key player could be all it takes to make Miami a major force again in the Eastern Conference. ... Miami could use scoring punch, a pedigreed star. This team would be better if someone other than Hassan Whiteside or Goran Dragic was considered the best player."
Led by Dragic and impending free agent Dion Waiters, the Heat averaged the second-most drives per game (35.1). They also have a $98 million man in the middle with Whiteside, who attacks out of screen-and-rolls and post-ups.
Everything funnels to the middle, necessitating the presence of capable shooters around the arc. But Miami's offensive needs are greater than that. If this group wants to challenge the Cavs, it must upgrade its top scoring option and land a dynamic point-producer on the wing.
Anthony can check both boxes, potentially allowing him to shine on a good-to-really-good team for the first time in a long time. Meanwhile, he'd go from the slums to the penthouse in terms of front-office leadership, be surrounded by lockdown stoppers and enjoy all the usual perks that come with signing in South Beach.
Washington Wizards
5 of 5
The Washington Wizards can offer two critical things to Anthony—contention and comfort.
The former requires his presence to come to fruition. Despite career years from John Wall, Bradley Beal and Otto Porter, Washington fell short of elite status.
The Wizards ranked ninth in both wins (49) and net rating (plus-1.6), and their failure to secure one road victory booted them out of the second round.
But they're clearly coming into their own and could make that leap with the right addition. Anthony would instantly become the consistent third scorer they've been missing and accentuate this talented backcourt.
If he delivered in D.C. and the Wizards jumped from good to great next season, he'd also get a massive boost to his reputation.
As for the comfort, The Undefeated's Marc J. Spears explained:
"While Anthony has often called New York City home, his true hometown is his childhood city of Baltimore. The Washington Wizards are the NBA team of the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area and would have a scary offensive lineup with Anthony, All-Star guard John Wall and shooting guard Bradley Beal. Washington also has several old Nuggets ties he would be familiar with in head coach Scott Brooks, senior vice president of basketball operations Tommy Sheppard, assistant coach Chad Iske and director of coaching administration Eric Sebastian."
Washington's starting five of Wall, Beal, Porter, Markieff Morris and Marcin Gortat bludgeoned opponents by 8.1 points per 100 possessions (fourth-best, minimum 300 minutes). Swap out Morris for Anthony, and it's not a stretch to think that already-impressive number could rise.
Statistics used courtesy of NBA.com and Basketball Reference.
Zach Buckley covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @ZachBuckleyNBA.
