House of Houston
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Houston Rockets Rumors: Third partner in Carmelo Anthony deal backed out

By Brian K. Patterson

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 27: Carmelo Anthony
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 27: Carmelo Anthony /
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The saga of the Houston Rockets pursuit for Carmelo Anthony continues to drag its feet and there is recent report indicating that a third partner for a three-way trade had been sought.

The Houston Rockets persistence to put the most competitive team together to beat the Golden State Warriors was kicked into overdrive this summer with the acquisition of Chris Paul in a multi-team, multi-player deal.  Adding additional pieces such P.J. Tucker and Luc Mbah a Moute and re-signing Nene will all help with the depth of this team.

But adding a third superstar to couple along with Paul and James Harden would certainly put this team over the top in terms of the top teams of the West.  It has long been believed that Carmelo Anthony is the answer to those woes.  He has made it no secret that he wants to play here as he’ll be able to re-unite with an long-time friend in Paul.  But both teams are at a stalemate in trying to find the best deal that will benefit all parties.

According to Ian Begley of ESPN.com, the Houston Rockets and New York Knicks had a third partner interested at one point but they backed away because they did want a particular asset that would be moved.

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Begley mentions the Milwaukee Bucks had emerged as a third partner but things quickly deteriorated when they scoffed at the thought of taking on 28-year-old Ryan Anderson‘s remaining $60 million that he’s owed on his current contract.

Even talented forward Jabari Parker‘s name was thrown around as an asset that the Knicks would acquire but it still seems that Anderson is the deal-breaker.  I understand that Anderson is owed a lot of money but he’s certainly a great asset to have any team.  He’s automatic from the three-point line unless in certain situations *cough* *cough* playoffs but can be a liability on defense.

Health should not be a concern because Anderson remained relatively in the black in terms of that subject as he appeared in 72 games, the most since the 2012-13 season where he appeared in 81 of those.

In addition, there were even talks of the pot being sweetened with adding bigs John Henson or Greg Monroe as part of the package to the Knicks but Anderson is the biggest stickler in getting a deal done.

The Knicks have the stance of them wanting young talent, a draft pick, or even an expiring contract in a potential deal.  The team also has had little to zero contact with Anthony as both sides stance remains steadfast.  Begley also said that the Knicks aren’t looking to buy Melo out at this time either.

But in my opinion, as training camp rolls around, the Knicks are going to have to make a decision on what to do with Anthony as they don’t want to lose him next season with getting anything in return.

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They have little leverage in this and Anthony holds the cards.  It wouldn’t be prudent for them to trot out Anthony on this season’s roster knowing that he does not want to be there.  This would have a tremendous impact on team morale if there was any left with the Knicks anyway.

We’ll see how this continues to develop but I’m insistent that we’ll have Melo in a Houston Rockets uniform before the start of training camp as opposed to what Begley alludes to.

Go Rockets.

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