Report: Carmelo expands list of teams he'd accept trade to, including Cavs
Carmelo Anthony wants his working relationship with the New York Knicks to be over and done with, and his level of impatience now seeping through.
The All-Star forward has reportedly expanded the list of teams he'd waive his no-trade clause for, with that list including the Cleveland Cavaliers, league sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Houston Rockets became Anthony's preferred destination once they landed Chris Paul to pair with James Harden. Since the Knicks have been unable to facilitate a move to the Lone Star State, Anthony's representatives have added at least two other teams to the list of potential destinations, with one being the reigning Eastern Conference champions.
The mystery team in question doesn't appear to be the Portland Trail Blazers, though, who have been heavily linked to Anthony over the past month or so, according to The New York Daily News' Frank Isola.
While his heart yearns for Houston, the 33-year-old is reportedly willing to work with Knicks management to get a deal done prior to the start of the 2017-18 regular season, with the team's first game scheduled for Oct. 19 against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
In fact, Anthony has reportedly been urging the organization to expedite the process, which would give him more time to acclimate to his new surroundings, wherever he'd end up.
The Knicks and Cavaliers did have preliminary talks on Monday, which ultimately went nowhere.
Related: - Knicks president: 'Plan' is for Carmelo to be at Monday's Media Day
The main road block keeping New York and Houston from coming to terms has been Ryan Anderson and the $60 million he's owed through 2019-20, which the Knicks are unwilling to take on. Past attempts to bring on one or two other teams for a multi-team trade to appease New York also went nowhere.
Anthony is owed $26.2 million in 2017-18, with an early termination clause/option the following year worth just under $28 million. He averaged 22.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 0.8 steals on 43.3 percent shooting across 74 appearances this past season for a Knicks squad that won just 31 games and missed out on the playoffs for a fourth year in a row.
Training camp gets underway on Sept. 26.