The New York Knicks continue to pursue Kevin Love in advance of the Feb. 23 trade deadline despite the Cleveland Cavaliers’ unwillingness to part with the All-Star forward in a deal for Carmelo Anthony, according to league sources. Sources said the Cavaliers, meanwhile, do maintain an interest in Anthony — which would pair him with Cleveland star and close friend LeBron James — but only if a deal can be struck without the league’s reigning champions surrendering Love.
More on Carmelo Anthony to Cavaliers?
ESPN Cleveland: Windhorst: I don't think we have heard the last of Carmelo Anthony and the #Cavs.
ESPN Cleveland: Windhorst: Tristan Thompson is more unmovable than Kevin Love, in my opinion but Love isn't a player you can easily find. #Cavs
The Knicks reportedly have had conversations with the Clippers, Cavaliers and Celtics. The belief is it would be difficult for Anthony to turn down an opportunity to play with his good friends Chris Paul with the Clippers or LeBron James with the Cavaliers.
Anthony said he hasn’t told the front office that he would only be willing to go to certain teams. But he and his superstar friends have talked about that happening at some point, and they’re playing for contenders, so it could be even more appealing. “Those considerations and thoughts will always be,” Anthony said. “That’s something we all think about as athletes, try to play with another. We talk about it from high school and college. These are conversations that we’ve had years before any of this ever came up.”
The Knicks have also continued to try to assemble a workable trade that the Cleveland Cavaliers would consider for Anthony after ESPN.com first reported earlier this week that the Cavs rebuffed Anthony-for-Kevin Love proposals.
Armed with a hope that Carmelo Anthony will eventually waive his no-trade clause, the New York Knicks have reached out to the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers to probe their interest in a trade, league sources told The Vertical.
ESPN Cleveland: Brian Windhorst: "LeBron has an interest in playing with Carmelo Anthony, but he knows you can't trade Kevin Love for him."
A couple hours before the ESPN report surfaced — and in the wake of LeBron James openly demanding another playmaker on the roster — Anthony was asked if he was the intended target of his buddy’s rant. “I do think he would want me to play with him. I don’t think he wouldn’t,” Anthony said. “But I don’t know if that comment is about me. I don’t think I’m the only playmaker in the NBA.”
Anthony Tolliver: If you were the GM of the Cavs would you make the Love for Melo trade? - Yes! Back to b...
The Knicks' thinking, sources said, is that they would have gone to Anthony to discuss waiving his no-trade clause had Cleveland shown interest in the deal. Anthony is one of only three NBA players with a full-no trade clause in his contract, alongside Cleveland's LeBron James and the Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki.
Although James and Anthony are incredibly close and have both expressed interest in playing together someday, sources say Cleveland is not prepared to surrender Love to get Anthony after the role Love played in helping the Cavaliers win the first championship in franchise history in June.
“You ask me a question if he thinks I’d want to play with him?’’ Anthony said. “Yes. I do think he’d want me to play with him. I don’t think he wouldn’t. But I don’t know if that comment was about me. I don’t think I’m the only playmaker in the NBA.’’ Asked by The Post if he wanted to play in Cleveland, Anthony said, “I don’t think about it – not something I think about right now. As far as playing with him, I don’t think about that. I can’t think about that. You know I’m not thinking about that.”
Asked if he got the sense that management wanted him to stay with the Knicks, Anthony said: "It was a quick meeting. That's all I can say."
Anthony did not rule out leaving the Knicks to maximize his chances to win a championship at some point. He is due to make $26.2 million next season and has a player option for $27.9 million in 2018-19, the final season of his contract with the Knicks. "I don't think it would be called kind of chasing a ring," Anthony said of potentially leaving to join a contender. "I think it would be looking at opportunities and situations, if and when that time [does] come. I think it would be a collective effort on all fronts, not just mine. I think it would be a collective effort on the organization and understanding the direction that they want to go."
Carmelo Anthony wouldn't be satisfied if his career ends without a championship, but acknowledges he's facing a different kind of urgency than friend LeBron James. "I'm in a different situation than him," Anthony said Wednesday about James and his recently stated urgency to win a title now. "He's won. He's just coming off of a championship, so for him to say he'll be 33 and doesn't have time to wait, he must have a different type of plan, a different goal, a different mindset of winning now and taking advantage of it."
Stephen A. Smith: The New York Knicks want to get rid of Carmelo Anthony. They want to get rid of him bad. They are willing to take Kevin Love, who's had back injuries, knee injuries... I mean, Lord knows whatever. Body is supposedly breaking down.
Charley Rosen’s piece for FanRag Sports stated “it’s understood” Anthony would only accept a trade to the Clippers and Cavaliers and possibly the Lakers. The Cavaliers, sources close to the situation indicated, are so far over the cap, putting them in a horrible luxury-tax situation, that a deal would seem highly improbable, even if Anthony may want to one day play with his buddies LeBron James and J.R. Smith.
If you’re looking for a path to making it happen, sure, theoretically it’s possible. And since James can be a free agent this summer, he could take that pay cut sooner than expected. The New York Daily News reported during the All-Star break the Cavs, Celtics and Knicks discussed a three-team deal that would send Kevin Love to Boston and bring Anthony to Cleveland. Those reports were quickly refuted, although one source with knowledge of the situation said this week James has indeed previously pitched the idea to Cavs management of somehow bringing Anthony to Cleveland. That would require Anthony waiving his no-trade clause.
Carmelo Anthony hasn’t had much to smile about professionally this season, but something that makes him chuckle is seeing his name linked to the Clippers, Cavaliers and other teams. “I laugh it off,” he said. “Just laugh it off. People always try to make scenarios, and situations, but nothing has happened.”
There was even a report Friday night Boston and Cleveland had “very preliminary talks’’ about whether to ask the Knicks if they wanted to join a three-way trade with Anthony that included Kevin Love, with Anthony going to Cleveland. An NBA source told The Post the Knicks had not been approached by the teams, and there was “nothing to it.” The report also stated talks did not progress.
The Daily News has learned that the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers have discussed a blockbuster trade centered around Kevin Love. There were very preliminary discussions about expanding the deal to include the Knicks and Anthony, who would have to waive his no-trade clause in order to facilitate a deal to the Cavs. The Knicks would receive draft picks and players in return. One of those players is believed to be Timofey Mozgov, who five years ago was traded by the Knicks to Denver in the Anthony deal.
Those talks have not progressed. Plus Anthony reiterated on Friday that he has no plans to seek a trade. However, when asked if he's thought about his future with a losing organization, Anthony gave a cryptic answer. “Not yet. I'm pretty sure I'll have that conversation with myself and my family and my team,” he said. “But it's not a conversation for right now.”
