2017 NBA Draft: 5 possible draft-day trades we want to see
3. Mile High reunion
Before we get started, let’s just acknowledge that a Carmelo Anthony trade to the San Antonio Spurs would be all kinds of fun.
LaMarcus Aldridge‘s game has fallen off a cliff, and if the Spurs can lead the league in defensive rating with him at the 4, Melo’s notorious defensive flaws could be masked as well. Anthony still has plenty to offer offensively, we’d finally get to see him on a winning team (far too late, but whatever) and the Spurs would have a powerful ally to convince Chris Paul to join in free agency.
However, the Spurs would need to shed plenty of salary for a CP3 signing, meaning Danny Green would have to be attached in a lopsided deal for a 33-year-old former All-Star. Considering they’d have to gut their bench depth to sign Paul, perhaps the Spurs would be better off just keeping Green’s defense and Aldridge’s ho-hum scoring than going all in on a Kawhi Leonard-Melo-CP3 core.
In any case, the New York Knicks really need to find a way to deal Carmelo Anthony leading up to the 2017 NBA Draft. His no-trade clause presents a problem, since it narrows down the list of possible trade partners to only destinations that Melo would approve.
Even with Phil Jackson doing his best to drive his star out of the Big Apple, Melo isn’t going to accept a trade to just anywhere, especially since his wife and children enjoy living in New York. At the end of the day though, Anthony has to do what’s best for himself…and it’s undeniable that a reunion with the Denver Nuggets might be mutually beneficial for both parties.
Though the Nuggets’ No. 13 pick would probably be off the table considering Melo’s age and slowly declining game, the Knicks would be getting rid of a star they no longer have use for, adding a decent role player in Kenneth Faried, and taking a chance on a 21-year-old point guard who, though flawed, is still too young to be definitively labeled as a “bust.”
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A Royal Pain
Faried’s contract comes off the books two years from now, so it’s not like he’d be unwanted baggage, especially if his presence at the 4 pushes Kristaps Porzingis to his more natural position at the 5.
The Nuggets, meanwhile, mend their relationship between a future Hall-of-Famer and his old fanbase, while Melo restores his reputation and leaves the NBA with his legacy more intact if he can aid this young team’s rise back to prominence. This isn’t exactly LeBron James returning to Cleveland, but it gives Denver a talented scorer to plug in at the 4 to replace Danilo Gallinari and pair with Wilson Chandler on the wing.
Melo returning to the franchise where he began his NBA career would be a good story, the Nuggets wouldn’t mind that his game is on the decline since he’d still be useful for a young core that’s trying to take the next step forward, and it’d allow him to finish out his twilight years with a team that doesn’t need him to be his old, All-Star self.
Denver is ready to give up on Emmanuel Mudiay as it is, they’d keep their No. 13 pick and they’d get rid of Faried’s unnecessary salary. The Knicks might ask for a throw-in like Juan Hernangomez, but that wouldn’t be a make-or-break inclusion for this kind of deal to go through if the Nuggets declined.
It’s one of those ideas that makes too much sense to actually happen, but the benefits for both sides are pretty clear.