With the trade deadline just two weeks away — Thursday, Feb. 23 — here’s a look at all the latest on the rumor front …
* The big fish on this year’s trade market is New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony. Knicks president Phil Jackson is actively searching for a trade partner for the nine-time All-Star, according to multiple reports, but outside of repeated attempts at trying to pry Kevin Love from Cleveland, Jackson has been unable to find a suitor for Anthony.
Here’s the latest on the situation in New York from The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski:
Anthony has privately told teammates, too: He refuses to let Jackson run him out of the Knicks. The Knicks have contacted three teams – the Los Angeles Clippers, Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers – about possible Anthony trades. The Clippers and Cavaliers have interest, but only in cobbling together packages that include role players, league sources told The Vertical.
Anthony has privately indicated an interest in listening to trades to those three teams, but the Knicks have been unable to find a trade package that they’re willing to accept, sources said.
Anthony, who has two years and $54.2 million remaining on his contract following this season, must waive his no-trade clause to make any deal happen.
* Down the road a few hours in Philadelphia, the 76ers reportedly had serious discussions with the New Orleans Pelicans earlier this week about a trade involving big man Jahlil Okafor, according to Marc Stein and Marc J. Spears of ESPN. In the deal, the Sixers would send Okafor, the third pick of the 2015 draft, to New Orleans for backup center Alexis Ajinca and a future first-round pick. Philly is seeking a first-round pick in any deal for Okafor, according to ESPN, which also reports Nerlens Noel is still on the trading block.
* Another big man thought to be on the market as the trade deadline neared was Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins. That is not the case, Kings GM Vlade Divac told ESPN’s Marc Stein this week:
Amid recent reports that the Kings had engaged the Phoenix Suns in talks involving Cousins, as well as suggestions that some in the organization were advocating a trade, Divac insisted by phone that any such speculation was untrue.
“We’re not trading DeMarcus,” Divac told ESPN. “We hope he’s here for a long time.”
In fact, the Kings are “going in that direction” of offering Cousins a maximum Designated Player contract extension this offseason — “estimated to be in the $219 million range over five seasons” — in July, Divac tells ESPN.
A report late last month from arizonasports.com had the Suns offering “small forward T.J. Warren, center Alex Len, Phoenix’s first-round pick this year and possibly more” in exchange for Cousins.
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