The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Atlanta Hawks are reportedly discussing a trade that would involve sending Carmelo Anthony to the Hawks and Dennis Schroder and Mike Muscala to the Thunder, according to Mitch Lawrence of SiriusXM radio.
Following is a tweet from Mitch Lawrence,
Oklahoma City and Atlanta in trade talks, with Thunder targeting Dennis Schroder and Mike Muscala, per sources. Carmelo Anthony would go to Atlanta, with Hawks doing buyout. Atl looking to add asset to make Melo’s buyout a wash. Getting rid of Schroder is No. 1 priority.
— Mitch Lawrence (@Mitch_Lawrence) July 18, 2018
Lawrence reported on Wednesday that the Hawks, who acquired point guard Jeremy Lin from the Brooklyn Nets last week, are mainly focused on moving Schroder. The Hawks would proceed to buy Anthony out of his contract so that he can become a free agent and sign with a contender, reports Lawrence.
After drafting Trae Young fifth overall in the 2018 NBA Draft, Schlenk said he felt that Schroder and Young could play well together on the court.
“I think both guys can play together when you look at the way the league is playing you’ll see two point guards playing on the floor a lot,” Schlenk said the night of the draft.
ESPN reported earlier this month the Thunder and Anthony have been working on an eventual separation and according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, which involved the Thunder and Atlanta discussing a potential deal in Las Vegas during Summer League. Atlanta felt the trade lacked tangible assets and talks never got serious, according to the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.
Following from Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution,
The Hawks balked at a proposed deal for Anthony while the teams was playing in the Las Vegas Summer League, holding out for an asset. The deal was never considered close, according to a person familiar with the situation. The Hawks were one of a few teams who could have absorbed Anthony and his $27.9 million final year contract.
The Hawks under Schlenk have been focused on acquiring assets and avoiding taking on contracts that affect their financial flexibility during their rebuilding stage. Any potential deal that involves them taking on Anthony’s contract would possibly have to include the Hawks sticking to those principles.
