NBA Trade Rumors: Why Carmelo Anthony should accept a trade to the Hornets

NBA Trade Rumors: Why Carmelo Anthony should consider waiving his no-trade clause for the Charlotte Hornets

The New York Knicks want to trade Carmelo Anthony. The Melo era in The Big Apple has clearly run its course, and it’s clear that the organization would be best served to rebuild around budding star Kristaps Porzingis.

However, one thing is making a parting of ways more complicated than it should be: Anthony’s no-trade clause. As far as we know, Carmelo is only willing to waive his NTC for a trade to Houston, where he could team up with James Harden and good friend Chris Paul to form the league’s next “superteam.”

Melo seems rather set on becoming a member of the Rockets, but New York and Houston have struggled to find common ground on a deal.

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The biggest impediment in getting Anthony to Houston is the Knicks’ refusal to take on Ryan Anderson’s bloated contract. Anderson is a fine offensive player, a stretch four that still has a home in the modern NBA despite his defensive deficiencies, but he’s overpaid, has three years left on his deal and plays the same position as Porzingis. Acquiring him wouldn’t make much sense for New York, and it’s going to be a challenge to find a third team willing to take on that contract.

Melo shouldn’t want to spend another season in New York; it doesn’t make sense for either party. He needs to be willing to waive his NTC for other destinations, and one that makes a lot of sense is Charlotte. It’s been reported that Anthony wants to stay in New York to be close to his son, which is something that any father can surely understand. Charlotte is relatively close to New York, just a 90-minute plane ride away.

While the proximity is nice, a trade to Charlotte would make sense from a basketball perspective more than anything else. Charlotte is going all-in to try and make a deep run in the playoffs this season, evidenced by their offseason acquisition of big man Dwight Howard. For all the flak that Howard takes, much if it deserved, he’s still a quality big man, especially on the defensive end.

A trade that would make sense for both the Knicks and Hornets would be Anthony for Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marvin Williams and a first-round pick. Charlotte adds a potent offensive weapon that would instantly improve their team, while the Knicks would get a young player with upside that was the second pick in the 2012 draft), a solid veteran role player and a pick to help the rebuilding effort.

In accepting a trade to Charlotte, Melo would remain in the Eastern Conference and avoid the murderer’s row that is the West right now. Boston landed Gordon Hayward this summer, but nobody seems to be ready to anoint them as a juggernaut, and it’s hard to tell how Cleveland is going to come out of the Kyrie Irving situation. Toronto is solid but probably won’t be much better than last season, and Washington still feels like they’re one major player away.

It’s not crazy to imagine the Hornets earning a Top 4 seed in the East with Melo on the roster. While that may not be a huge deal for most franchises, it would mean a lot for a Charlotte organization that has had many a bad season going back to the Bobcat days.

Charlotte would be able to run out a starting five of Kemba Walker, Malik Monk, Nicolas Batum, Anthony and Howard, and still have bench contributors like Cody Zeller, Frank Kaminksy and Jeremy Lamb. That’s a lot of shooting around Howard, which enables him to operate at his best, and a potent offensive core that would work well together in theory. Melo would find himself on a quality team, and if things don’t go well he can opt out next summer.

New York would be looking at a foundation of Porzingis, MKG, Willy Hernangomez and Frank Ntilikina. They’d also have a good chance of bottoming out this season and securing a lofty draft position in a 2018 draft that has some serious star potential at the top.

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Carmelo Anthony to Charlotte seems to make a ton of sense, but would Anthony be willing to waive his NTC to get there? My gut says no, but perhaps his tune could change as we inch closer to training camp.