There has long been talk of the “Banana Boat” crew (LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Paul) uniting together on the same team towards the end of their careers. The New York Knicks are in a rather dire situation; the Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah signings have not turned out spectacularly (shocking, I know), and Carmelo Anthony has been frustrated with Phil Jackson.
It is very possible that Anthony would have already been traded if not for his no-trade clause. There are teams that Anthony would likely waive that clause in order to go to, and the Cleveland Cavaliers are almost certainly one of them. According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, the Knicks made the Cavs an offer, which was rejected:
The Knicks have been unsuccessful in their attempts to engage the Cavaliers in Carmelo Anthony-for-Kevin Love trade talks in advance of the league’s Feb. 23 trade deadline, ESPN.com has learned.
League sources told ESPN.com on Wednesday that the Knicks have approached the Cavaliers to gauge their interest in swapping All-Star forwards, but they were told that Cleveland is not interested in such an exchange.
The Knicks, sources said, would have gone to Anthony to discuss waiving his no-trade clause had Cleveland shown interest in the deal.
Although James and Anthony are 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.
LeBron James recently expressed his frustration with the Cavaliers, saying that the team needs another playmaker. Most assume that James meant a point guard (partially because he said that the team needs a point guard earlier in the season).
Carmelo Anthony is an excellent scorer, though, and is better than Love when it comes initiating offense. Love, however, is a better shooter and rebounder, and is the more valuable player at this point in their respective careers.
