With Media Day quickly approaching for all 30 NBA teams, the New York Knicks traded Carmelo Anthony to the Oklahoma City Thunder. In exchange, the Knicks received Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott, and a 2018 second round draft pick via the Chicago Bulls.
One team that was interested in Anthony was the Portland Trail Blazers. Despite Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum recruiting him throughout the summer, the 10-time All-Star was not willing to waive his no-trade clause for Portland. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Anthony had an interesting reason why:
Perry remained in contact with Portland Trail Blazers president of basketball operations Neil Olshey, who had the most versatile array of assets for New York and motivation to make the deal — but, ultimately, Anthony would not accept a trade to the Pacific Northwest.
Anthony was intrigued with a potential partnership with Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic, and the stability and track record of the front office and coaching staff in Portland, but did not want to make such a dramatic geographic shift, league sources said.
It explains why Anthony only included the Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets, and Thunder on his trade destinations. While the Knicks were willing to trade him to his preferred destination, the Rockets were unwilling to trade Eric Gordon and Trevor Ariza.
For the Blazers, it will be interesting to see if they pursue another player. After signing numerous role players to long-term deals, Portland does not have the financial flexibility to improve a roster that finished in the eighth spot of the Western Conference this past season.
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