Is it officially, maybe, possibly time to add a third team to the Carmelo Anthony sweepstakes?
Apparently yes. And it’s not the Portland Trail Blazers. It’s the Oklahoma City Thunder, according to The Ringer’s Bill Simmons:
Have a scoop – OKC and Carmelo are officially circling each other. OKC's Troy Weaver recruited Melo to Cuse + has known him since DMV days.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) July 24, 2017
Looking at the Thunder makes sense for Anthony. They have Paul George and Russell Westbrook, two stars he can complement if he’s willing to play off the ball more, and he doesn’t have a lot of other options. The Houston Rockets dream appears to have stalled, and the Cleveland Cavaliers are no longer an appealing option with the Kyrie Irving trade stuff.
Now, with that being said, the New York Knicks should run. They should not be negotiating with Thunder general manager Sam Presti. They will lose. Enes Kanter will be on their team, and Kristaps will end up playing shooting guard.
And by the way, if Presti ends up turning Kanter and Victor Oladipo into Anthony and George, respectively, he deserves a gotdamn nobel prize—in addition to an automatic victory in the Executive of the Year department.