Grantland's Zach Lowe may have buried the lead in his latest article about the Suns and their fractured relationship with forward Markieff Morris. The Knicks could be warming to the idea of trading Carmelo Anthony.
Regarding a potential trade for Morris, Lowe wrote "The Kings and Knicks should take a look, even though neither has movable assets that would interest Phoenix - unless the Knicks are ready to engage in Carmelo Anthony trade talks. (They're not there, yet. But they're getting closer.)"
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Moving one of the NBA's elite scorers is close to unthinkable, especially when that scorer is Anthony, playing in his hometown. The Knicks went through one of the worst seasons in the history of the organization last year, and Anthony only made it through 40 games; he limped through the majority of them.
Anthony averaged 24.2 points, but his shooting percentages were down, his assist numbers stagnated, and he got to the free throw line less. He is past 30 years old, and now has a major knee surgery on his medical record. Even worse, the Knicks owe him $101 million through the 2017-18 season. Even worse than that, the salary inflates each season. Still, a desperate team may be willing to accept those hard truths for Anthony if the Knicks trade him now, while there's still hope he will return to the court as the unstoppable scoring machine that took the scoring title from Kevin Durant in 2013.
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That last name is the reason why Lowe's assertion hasn't gained more steam. Durant looms as the top free agent this summer, and if he just stays healthy this year, he'll create a buzz as close to LeBron James' free agency as possible. There have also been rumors that Anthony is recruiting KD hard. The two are friends from their time on the United States national team, and Anthony's departure could mean Durant won't think twice about the Big Apple.
The wise course is probably keeping Anthony at this point. If they wanted to deal him, dangling him in front of the other lottery teams before this year's draft made sense. Now, the Knicks have a promising core with Anthony and rookie Kristaps Porzingis at the forefront. Durant could turn this group into something special, so expect Anthony to remain in blue and orange for the long haul.
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