NBA Rumors: Examining Trade Chatter on Carmelo Anthony, Anthony Davis and More

With free agency slowing to a steady pace, the NBA naturally turns its attention back to the trade rumor mill, a reaction to the dominoes set in motion by the open market. 

Carmelo Anthony, of course, gets credited with a massive assist.

Carmelo's situation with the New York Knicks dominates the conversation now. Some franchises are left wondering where deals went wrong, while others again pop up in the rumors cycle looking ahead to next season's deadline—and it's not too hard to guess which franchise that might be.

Below, let's take a look at the next big wave of rumors as the spotlight swings back to the trade realm.

PG13 and the Cavaliers

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Most people didn't see Paul George landing with the Oklahoma City Thunder this offseason.

It wasn't hard to predict the Indiana Pacers would deal their superstar after a miserable exit from the playoffs and former president Larry Bird stepping down from his post, though. The front office made the right move, refusing to get burnt in getting nothing in exchange for his departure in 2018.

Still, George seemed like a rental for a contender such as the Cleveland Cavaliers before he went to play with his hometown Los Angeles Lakers. And it turns out those Cavs had a shot at finalizing a deal before the Pacers backed out, according to Adrian Wojnarowski on ESPN (h/t NBC Sports' Dan Feldman).

"Koby Altman was very close to a deal on June 30 for Paul George. It was so close, in fact, that Indiana was about to give permission to Paul George to get on the phone with Dan Gilbert. Indiana backed out of it and did the Oklahoma City deal," Wojnarowski said.

Fans of the Cavaliers might want to cover their eyes for this next part—this was the right move by the Pacers. Flirt with the idea of dealing PG13 to a predictable destination in order to get a better trade return with another partner.

The collapse of a deal leaves the Cavaliers searching for answers and dealing with a disgruntled LeBron James, who is "concerned about the Cavaliers' offseason," according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.

As for George, the man wants to compete. He might alongside Russell Westbrook, or things could get really weird in a hurry considering Westbrook has yet to sign an extension, meaning the Thunder could get trigger happy while worried about getting burnt as they did with Kevin Durant.

The impact of this non-deal and deal are far from done making waves.

Carmelo Makes His Intentions Known

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It was only a matter of time.

The relationship between Carmelo and the Knicks always seemed headed toward a full derail. He wanted to be part of the rebuild alongside Kristaps Porzingis and others, but too much drama surrounding former president Phil Jackson soured the relationship beyond the point of no return.

This much now seems confirmed after Wojnarowski took to SportsCenter and dropped a bombshell from Anthony, per Marc Berman of the New York Post: "I am not interested in talking to you about being reincorporated back into this New York roster."

Don't blame Anthony too much—Jackson tanked the relationship well before he left his post and is also the guy who openly talked about trading the 21-year-old Porzingis.

As the report mentioned, Anthony seems to have his sights set on the Houston Rockets. They're the flavor of the month when it comes to potential new superteams thanks to the tandem of Chris Paul and James Harden. Whether the team with Anthony will have enough firepower to match the Golden State Warriors is a conversation for another time.

It's hard to see this drama going away anytime soon either. The Knicks aren't going to find a team willing to give up much in the way of assets for Anthony when they know he could simply hit the open market. There's no sense in a contender coughing up key pieces given the circumstances.

The situation requires a third or maybe fourth team, though the lack of serious traction speaks volumes. Anthony remains a member of the Knicks for now.

Celtics Enter the Spotlight...Again

Gerald Herbert/Associated Press

Here we go again, right?

The Boston Celtics and president Danny Ainge have made a habit of stockpiling picks and being conservative with assets, so much so that landing Al Horford and Gordon Hayward in back-to-back years while drafting Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum still manages to seem conservative.

Greedily piling up assets has a way of lending to the notion that a big move is on the way, which hasn't happened from a trade standpoint for these Celtics.

Alas, the mill keeps ticking and The Vertical's Chris Mannix has the latest, in which the Celtics might have an eye on a major name next year:

"In addition, rival executives expect Boston to be keeping close tabs on New Orleans, which is entering a critical season. The Pelicans are committed to seeing if an Anthony Davis-DeMarcus Cousins frontcourt can work, but if the season goes awry, it's widely believed the Celtics will make a strong run at Davis, who is under contract through 2020."

Anthony Davis is a strong fit in Boston regardless of what happens down the road with Horford. Letting him run with Isaiah Thomas and Hayward would put the Celtics in a position to run the Eastern Conference perhaps right alongside the time LeBron's Cavaliers start falling off. 

But this scenario needs two things to happen. One, Ainge has to actually be fine with making a major deal. Two, the Pelicans have to want to sell a superstar player like Davis, who is under team control for years. The same can't be said for DeMarcus Cousins, who is very much a visitor on Davis' team on a trial basis.

Maybe this shifts as the season unfolds and the Celtics pursue Cousins. Either way, it's not hard to see which team the Celtics will keep an eye on as the season unfolds with the future-looking Ainge always on the apparent hunt to see what his assets stockpile can get him.

All stats and info via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.