This weekend was abuzz with trade rumors after a story broke that Knicks, Cavs and Celtics were in preliminary talks about a trade that would send Carmelo Anthony to Cleveland, Kevin Love to Boston, and high draft picks to New York.
The crux of the piece is that Anthony, who is aging and suffering from recurring soreness on his surgically repaired left knee, would want to join forces with his close friend LeBron James in hopes of winning an NBA title. Another theorized trade includes Anthony going to the Clippers, where he would also be teaming with a close friend in Chris Paul.
There’s only one problem — Melo loves New York and has no desire to leave. Much like two summers ago when everyone claimed his best shot to win a title was going to Chicago, now the rumblingsĀ from media and some fans is the Knicks need to go into rebuild mode. Last night, Melo emphasized his commitment to the Knicks and doubled down this morning in an appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio:
There’s always some trade shit going, I don’t pay attention to those rumors. I’m not going anywhere.
So there you have it. Melo is staying, just as Knicks President Phil Jackson said going into All-Star weekend. The irony is Melo has been the one elite player in five years that’s wanted to play and win in New York. And here we have some fans and media that want to run him out of town and start over. Have you forgotten the Dark Ages that were the early to mid 2000s already?