Now that the Knicks have been able to welcome Tim Hardaway Jr. back to New York with a $71-million free agent contract, they are expected to increase their efforts to move Carmelo Anthony.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com, the Knicks do not want to play Anthony and Hardaway Jr. together in the same lineup and so may be more motivated to pursue a deal with the Rockets:
The Knicks’ acquisition of Hardaway Jr. to the staggering deal is expected to trigger a renewed willingness to work with the Houston Rockets on trade scenarios to unload Carmelo Anthony, league sources told ESPN.
The Rockets have been persistent in their pursuit of Anthony, who is willing to waive his no-trade clause to join Chris Paul and James Harden in Houston, league sources told ESPN, and the Knicks do not imagine a scenario where Hardaway Jr. is sharing the floor with Anthony to start the season.
Houston G.M. Daryl Morey recently said his philosophy is: “Get more USA Basketball team members.”
The biggest snag to a deal between the Knicks and Rockets is to make it work under the salary cap, New York would have to take back the last three years of forward Ryan Anderson’s contract that is worth $61 million. The Rockets and the Knicks have been trying to get a third team involved to facilitate a deal.
