5 trade destinations for Carmelo Anthony
By John Buhler
Boston Celtics
East, Atlantic
Sometime one day in the near future, Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge just might cash in his stockpile of intriguing assets and get the superstar he’s been talking about for a half decade. Boston has two great players in point guard Isaiah Thomas and center Al Horford. Does trading for Anthony get Boston over the top?
A starting lineup in Boston with Thomas at the one, Anthony at the three and Horford at the five might become the biggest threat to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference. It would be a Big Three that could challenge Cleveland’s Big Three of James, point guard Kyrie Irving and power forward Kevin Love.
Obviously, Boston would have to give up small forward Jae Crowder and either wing Avery Bradley or Marcus Smart at minimum to get the Knicks to part ways with Anthony. Add in that these are Atlantic Division rivals and this potential trade could get more complicated.
One has to believe that whatever Atlantic Division rival between Boston and the Toronto Raptors land that third All-Star level player will emerge as a lock to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals. Boston and Toronto aren’t likely going to take down Cleveland, but these two teams have to try.
Anthony to the Celtics has upside. He could re-sign with the team and might benefit from playing under a great head coach in Brad Stevens. However, can Anthony and Thomas share the basketball? Will rebounding plummet with Anthony and undersized Horford in the frontcourt?
That being said, if Ainge wants a superstar this NBA trade deadline, Anthony has to make his short list.