Report: Celtics Could Help Facilitate Clippers Deal For Carmelo Anthony
Ryan Mayer
The Celtics have made it clear that they don't want to add Knicks star Carmelo Anthony. However, the Knicks desperately seem to want to move him and the Clippers are reportedly interested. The problem? The Clippers don't really have the valuable assets necessary in order to make a deal happen. That's where the Celtics come in, according to the Boston Globe.
"The Knicks haven't given up hope on including the Celtics as a partner in a potential deal for Carmelo Anthony, sending a scout to Saturday's Celtics-Bucks game.
While Celtics management told the Knicks they aren't interested in the nine-time All-Star, the Knicks are pushing to move Anthony, according to an NBA source, and they're intrigued by some of the Celtics' players.
A source indicated that Knicks president Phil Jackson has instructed management to move Anthony, who has a no-trade clause but included the Celtics as one of the teams for whom he'd waive the clause. Boston could become part of a potential three-team deal that would send Anthony to another club, perhaps the Clippers."
Okay, so if the Celtics were to be involved in a three-team deal to facilitate Anthony's move to the West Coast, what would that trade look like? Well, there haven't been any reports of specific players rumored to be involved, but CBS Sports.com's Matt Moore has a breakdown of a trade the could work for everybody involved using ESPN's Trade Machine.
In Moore's trade, the Celtics would get: Guard JJ Redick, small forward Paul Pierce, and forward Luc-Richard Mbah Moute.
The Knicks receive: Forward Amir Johnson, forward Jonas Jerebko, and guard Austin Rivers
The Clippers receive: Forward Carmelo Anthony
Moore went on to explain the reasoning behind this trade while also offering another possibility of a trade involving the Knicks' Courtney Lee and Celtics guard Avery Bradley swapping places. All told, it seems that the Celtics could be involved in a trade that features Carmelo, but likely not one that would end with the 32-year-old forward coming to Boston.