The NY Knicks have some major questions this offseason with the decision on free agency for Carmelo Anthony and if the Houston Rockets make a push to sign him, New York could look at making a trade for Jeremy Lin, Omer Asik and/or Chandler Parsons, as ESPN writes that for Dwight Howard to get Melo, the team will need to shed some serious salary and with those players becoming free agents soon, a deal could go down.
The move with the Knicks and Rockets is very unlikely, but there always is a chance that Anthony convinces the team to pull off a sign and trade so that they aren't left holding the bag after he opts out. Anthony has some major personal decisions to make heading into the summer, while the Knicks have to make sure they have an alternate plan if Melo actually decides to leave for the Rockets or the Chicago Bulls, as many have reported that those are the two teams with the best chance to get him.
Anthony is coming into the offseason after missing the playoffs for the first time in his career and while many think that the Knicks have the best chance to sign him since they can give him the most money and years, it may not work out that way in Melo's eyes. He has made a ton of money in his career and at 29 years old he doesn't have many years left to win a championship, which is something that LeBron James and Dwyane Wade already have done multiple times over. Anthony will not be able to market his skills for a deal this big ever again in his career so that could be a factor as well, but he wants to win, which is why Pro Basketball Talk reported that the Bulls and Rockets are going to position themselves as options for Melo this summer.
One thing that could help both of those teams is the fact that the salary cap is expected to rise by about $5 million and that means the luxury tax threshold also will be going up. While that doesn't necessarily mean they will be able to sign Anthony, it allows them to at least compete a bit more with the money the Knicks can give, which is likely about $130 million for five years. The other teams could put together some nice packages if they make moves and that is where the potential trades and other deals come in for the Rockets and the Bulls.
Houston has a ton of money tied up in Dwight Howard and James Harden, but they also have money tied up in Jeremy Lin, Chandler Parsons and Omer Asik and those five players take up the bulk of their cap. Daryl Morey is not afraid to think outside the box and he could try and swing a deal that gets him Melo while clearing out that space, or doing it beforehand as well. The Bulls will have to trade Carlos Boozer or Amnesty him and that could give them space to compete. The Parsons part of the equation is tough, as he can be an unrestricted free agent in 2015 or a restricted in 2014 depending on what the Rockets do.