Carmelo Anthony Trade Rumors: Knicks Star Confident Move to Rockets Will Happen

Carmelo Anthony is reportedly optimistic he will wind up with the Houston Rockets. 

Appearing on SportsCenter, ESPN.com's Ian Begley said Anthony is "confident" the Knicks will trade him to the Rockets, even though the two sides have yet to hammer out terms. 

"I'm told that Carmelo feels pretty confident that a deal will get done at this point to Houston," Begley said. 

"But the teams, to date, are nowhere near the finish line, because it's so tough for the Knicks and Rockets to get a deal together one-to-one. So, it looks like there's going to have to be a third team involved. Probably Ryan Anderson is going to have to be moved off to that third team for this deal to happen." 

On Saturday, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Brian Windhorst reported the Rockets were set to intensify their pursuit of Anthony after signing James Harden to a record-setting extension worth $170 million over four years. 

They added, citing league sources, that Anthony has informed the Knicks he would waive his no-trade clause to join the Rockets. 

But as Begley noted, the logistics of a potential deal are complicated since the Rockets would likely have to find a third team to join the fray that's willing to take on the final three years and $61.2 million of Ryan Anderson's contract.