Report: Carmelo Anthony confident he’ll end up in Houston

The Cleveland Cavaliers have explored several options this summer to help them contend with the Golden State Warriors. They tried to trade for Paul George, and have been looking into ways to acquire Carmelo Anthony.

The hope was that Anthony would be bought out, meaning the team could acquire him without giving up any assets. With the departure of Phil Jackson, the New York Knicks have gone away from buyout talks and begun looking at trade options.

Anthony has reportedly been willing to waive his no-trade clause, as long as it was for the Houston Rockets or the Cavaliers. Neither team has many assets to trade, leaving the Knicks in a tough position. The team will likely need to take a bad deal from either team. So it comes down to which team can come up with an offer that’s worthwhile to acquire the aging star.

It appears as though the Rockets are currently the front-runner in the Anthony sweepstakes. According to Ian Begley of ESPN:

I'm told Carmelo feels pretty confident that a deal will get done at this point to Houston

This news isn’t too surprising. While neither team is likely willing to part with long-term assets, Daryl Morey has a history of finding innovative ways to get deals done while the Cavs still haven’t officially named a successor to David Griffin. Assets like Iman Shumpert, Channing Frye, and Richard Jefferson are all the Cavs truly have to offer. Especially if they aren’t willing to part with Cedi Osman.

Ultimately, the lure of Anthony was adding a brilliant offensive talent for a low price. Should the price reach a point where the team needs to part with some of it’s core or future assets, then it no longer becomes worthwhile. It’s possible they find a solution or make trades to put them in a better position to make a deal. But currently, the possible addition of Anthony seems like a long-shot.