The Houston Rockets are looking to make big moves this offseason and to sign Carmelo Anthony, the team could look at a James Harden trade with the NY Knicks to acquire the star and this comes as the team is also interested in adding LeBron James to a Big 3 with Dwight Howard for the 2014-15 season as they try to push for a championship.
The Knicks are still looking to sign back Anthony and according to ESPN.com writes Chris Broussard, the team would be open to this deal since it would land them Harden. The Rockets originally traded picks and players to the Thunder for Harden and he has developed nicely alongside Howard, but the Rockets feel that Melo is the player that can take them over the top for an NBA finals run next year and the seasons beyond. The Knicks could be open to that deal according to Broussard, as they would like to get something out of Anthony if he ends up deciding to leave New York as a free agent.
Harden has turned out to be a great scorer and the Rockets have already started making moves to clear space for big name free agents, as they have traded Omer Asik and also have a deal lined up for Jeremy Lin. Clearing enough cap space could enable the team to have room to sign Anthony and James, but everyone expects James to head back to Miami. Anthony is the more likely of the two to leave and he will be visiting Houston along with the Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks and LA Lakers in free agency.
According to ESPN.com, James and Anthony would love to team up and play together, but there aren't many teams that can fit that cap space. The Miami Heat is exploring signing back the Big 3 and Anthony, but that would require a nice amount of cap room and that means all three players and Anthony will have to sign back for less money. Anthony could potentially leave $50 million on the table and that could be too much to leave out for Melo.
The Knicks come into the offseason after winning just 37 games and that was one reason why Phil Jackson was brought into the mix and now his main priority is trying to keep Anthony. The Knicks will survive if Anthony leaves, as there are a number of solid free agents on the market, including players like Luol Deng, Kyle Lowry, Dirk Nowitzki and Lance Stephenson. The Knicks tried to trade for Lowry during the season and they have also been lined to Gasol due to his connections to Phil Jackson from his time with the Lakers.
The Knicks started the season 3-13 and the writing was on the wall after that, as it was nearly impossible to pull out of that hole, even in the terrible eastern conference. The Knicks nearly did it and they were flirting with the number eight spot for a while, but Anthony ended up missing the playoffs for the first time in his career. The Knicks brought in Jackson to try and build up the team after a tough season in 2013-14 and one reason it felt so bad was the fact that the Knicks won the division and 54 games the previous season.
