5 trade destinations for Carmelo Anthony
By John Buhler
Detroit Pistons
East, Central
Wouldn’t it be ironic to see Anthony on the team that should have drafted him No. 2 overall in the 2003 NBA Draft? The Detroit Pistons opted to go with Darko Milicic over Anthony, who would land in Denver with the very next selection.
Detroit is the other would-be contending team in the Eastern Conference that has had a miserable last couple of weeks. The Pistons are quickly becoming the fifth-best team in the tough Central Division and have not seen All-Star center Andre Drummond take the next step in his progression as a franchise centerpiece.
A deal involving Anthony to the Pistons really hinges on what Pistons head coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy want to do. He’s too good of a coach to have a middling Eastern Conference roster. Over the years, he has shown a proclivity to overspending on players he wants. Van Gundy also likes to zag when other executives zig following the NBA’s latest trends.
New York would get Drummond and probably small forward Tobias Harris in a deal for Anthony. Shooting guard Courtney Lee or a package of rotational players and picks would have to go Detroit’s way.
This is a move New York would love to make. Harris, Porzingis, and Drummond in the frontcourt could be incredible. The problem is that Van Gundy may not covet Anthony, get a return offer he would like, or even think that Anthony could play alongside point guard Reggie Jackson.