Apparently there was a real chance that Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James could have been teammates this season.
According to a report from Cleveland.com, before the Knicks agreed to the blockbuster trade to send Carmelo Anthony to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott and a 1st Round Pick, the Knicks tried to acquire 26-year-old center Tristan Thompson as the centerpiece of a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Here is an excerpt from the report by Joe Vardon:
“The Knicks wanted Thompson, 26, a center who like James is represented by Rich Paul. The Cavs told them no. Thompson is under contract for three more seasons, beginning at $16.4 million this year. Cleveland was willing to do a deal that would’ve cleared some contracts off the books, such as sending Iman Shumpert ($11 million this year) and others.
…
New York also asked about one of Cleveland’s two first-round choices for 2018, and the Cavs weren’t about to part with either.
The Cavs view the Brooklyn pick they own for 2018 as invaluable for multiple reasons. Trading the Knicks their own first-round pick would prevent them from being able to move the Brooklyn pick later this season.”
While the thought of LeBron and Carmelo teaming up together is somewhat intoxicating, a front line of LeBron, Carmelo and Kevin Love would be a huge problem on the defensive end as neither Love or Carmelo Anthony possess the quickness or defensive chops or athleticism really to defend the pick-and-roll, be a rim runner or rim protector like Thompson is, and that would have left a huge void on the team.
The only way this deal could have worked (but never would have because of LeBron’s alliances with Thompson and J.R. Smith and dislike for Joakim Noah I am assuming) would have been a deal involving Thompson, Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith for Carmelo Anthony, Joakim Noah and maybe another throw in.
Noah is too huge of a risk to take on and depend on to fill Thompson’s role, especially with Thompson’s incredible durability, and LeBron would not be happy about Thompson and his close friend J.R. Smith being dealt.
The Knicks apparently were unwilling to take on Shumpert’s contract as well and tried to get a 1st round pick from Cleveland in a deal, which wasn’t happening.
Melo to the Thunder made more sense at the end of the day, the Cavaliers will still likely land another veteran in Dwyane Wade in the next few days.
