After LeBron’s outcry for more help and playmakers in order to get the Cavs out of their 2-5 funk, some opportunistic front offices decided it was high time to send Cavs GM David Griffin some trade proposals. The Knicks decided to try out this proposal: Kevin Love for Carmelo Anthony.
The response from the Cavs was predictable: thanks but no thanks. Should the Cavs have gone crazy and actually considered this lopsided trade, the Knicks would have had to get Melo to waive his full no-trade clause to facilitate a move to Cleveland. (Likely a formality.)
LeBron has been vocal in wanting not only a playmaking point guard to help out the Cavs, but another big man in order to help fill the void that Matthew Dellavedova and Timofey Mozgov left this offseason. However, ESPN reported that the Cavs aren’t willing to trade Kevin Love after the role he played in helping the Cavs win their first championship.
When Melo was asked about LeBron’s recent comments and whether they were intended to subtly hint at management to move for him, he responded this way:
“You ask me a question if he thinks I’d want to play with him?” Anthony told reporters. “Yes. I do think he’d want me to play with him. I don’t think he wouldn’t. But I don’t know if that comment was about me. I don’t think I’m the only playmaker in the NBA.”
And on whether he’d want to play for the Cavs:
“I don’t think about it — [that’s] not something I think about right now. As far as playing with him, I don’t think about that. I can’t think about that. You know I’m not thinking about that.”
When team executives are pitching trades that even ESPN’s trade machine might reject, you know one or both sides of the equation are fairly desperate. But it’s unlikely the Cavs or even the Knicks are desperate enough to go through with this one.
[ESPN]
