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Knicks Rumors: LeBron James Pushing to Acquire Carmelo Anthony

By Nick Ziegler

Feb 4, 2017; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) drives to the basket past Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) during the second half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 4, 2017; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) drives to the basket past Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) during the second half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports /
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Recent New York Knicks rumors are that LeBron James is pushing the Cleveland Cavaliers to trade for Carmelo Anthony.

Recent New York Knicks rumors have all been about what will happen to Carmelo Anthony. According to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, LeBron James is encouraging the Cleveland Cavaliers to trade for Anthony.

While James wanting the team to trade Anthony isn’t surprising, it is surprising that he doesn’t mind if they move Kevin Love accomplish this. The Cavaliers haven’t played well recently. However, blowing up the team that won an NBA Championship doesn’t seem like the right thing to do.

Anthony has all of the power in any trade with his no-trade clause. However, it would be surprising if he wouldn’t agree to a deal that means he could play with James. The two are good friends, and they have achieved success together in the Olympics.

Even though James is fine with the team trading Love, the organization likely isn’t. Love is playing well for the Cavaliers this season, as he is averaging a double-double with points and rebounds. Also, Love is a good fit with James due to his ability to shoot the three-pointer well.

While Love is not known for his defense, Anthony wouldn’t be an upgrade in that department either. The Cavaliers’ organization would likely try to find a third team in order to not trade Love in a deal for Anthony.  Due to the large contract of Anthony, a trade between the Cavaliers and Knicks not including Love would be extremely difficult.

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If James really doesn’t mind if the team trades Love for Anthony, it’s a clear indication that he doesn’t believe they can win. For the Knicks, getting Love in return for Anthony would be a pretty good haul. It might create a log jam in the front court, but Love is certainly talented.

As the trade deadline approaches, it will be interesting to see if the Cavaliers are willing to meet the reported demands of James. Acquiring Anthony would easily be one of the biggest trades in recent years.

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