The NBA season is barely a month old and already there's a lot trade of rumors swirling around. One such trade rumor is reportedly a three team, blockbuster deal that involves the New York Knicks, the Boston Celtics and the Indiana Pacers. The most significant players involved are New Knicks All Star forward Carmelo Anthony and Indiana Pacers All Star shooting guard/small forward Paul George.
Both Carmelo Anthony, 32, and Paul George, 26, are superstars in their own right. They were both teammates in the USA Basketball team that won a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics in Brazil. Between the two of them, Carmelo Anthony's name has been the one that's constantly swirling around rumor mills in the NBA today.
There are reports that Carmelo Anthony, who is entering his 14th season in the NBA, has not been happy with current state of the New York Knicks. Reports also say that Carmelo Anthony is not comfortable with the "triangle offense". New Knicks president Phil Jackson has been imposing the "triangle offense" to the team. Carmelo Anthony has also been reported that he's not been seeing eye to eye with New York Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek regarding the team's lack of defense.
On the other hand, Paul George, who is entering his 7th season in the NBA, has also been previously mentioned in trade rumors but not as frequent as Carmelo Anthony. The rumors just quickly die down. Like Carmelo Anthony, Paul George doesn't seem happy either with the way things are going for the Indian Pacers this season. In an interview last week, Paul George said that, "the team has no chemistry, each player wants to play for stats and for themselves".
If ever the trade pushes thru, there would be three possible scenarios. The first scenario would be the Indiana Pacers would get Carmelo Anthony from the New York Knicks and the Boston Celtics' 2018 first-round pick (from the Brooklyn Nets). The second would be the Boston Celtics will get Paul George from the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks' 2019 first-round pick. Finally, the third scenario would be the New York Knicks will get Jae Crowder and a 2017 first-round pick (from the Brooklyn Nets) from the Boston Celtics.
As enticing as the trade may look, it's complicated and it's highly unlikely that the deal will push thru. Reports say that the deal will not work under the NBA trade rules and salary cap policy. Since both Carmelo Anthony and Paul George have max-deal contracts, the Boston Celtics and the Indiana Pacers will be receiving too much salary from both players.