NBA Rumors: Bucks were involved as third team in Carmelo Anthony deal?

The New York Knicks probably need to get a third team involved in any Carmelo Anthony trade, but it doesn’t look like the Milwaukee Bucks will be that team.

The ongoing saga of the New York Knicks and Carmelo Anthony has fallen to the back burner for much of this NBA offseason, but with little else going on it can take center stage. A move does not appear imminent, so it’s becoming very possible Anthony will start the season as a Knick.

The Houston Rockets have had known interest in Anthony, but a third team would probably have to be involved in a deal to make salary swaps and such work. ESPN’s Ian Begley has reported the Milwaukee Bucks surfaced as a prospective third team, but talks were “very preliminary” and may have effectively ended when a particular young player came up.

“One name that came up in those (very) preliminary talks? Bucks forward Jabari Parker, per league sources.”

Begley states, as could be obvious, that it’s unclear if the Knicks or Bucks brought up Parker’s name. But it is clear the Knicks would like a player of Parker’s type in return for Anthony.

Parker showed what he can do last season, averaging 20.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. But he also tore his left ACL in February for the second time in his young career, and will not return until around midseason. He suffered the same injury during his rookie season in 2014-15, and he looked to be at full strength late in the 2015-16 season (18.9 points per game over his final 28 games).

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As simply a facilitator for the Knicks to get rid of Anthony, taking a bad contract like Ryan Anderson’s from Houston makes no sense for the Bucks. Parker carries durability concerns coming off another torn ACL, but giving up on his potential based on the prospect of being able to finally unload Monroe makes even less sense. The Bucks surely did not suggest they wanted to trade Parker, but the Knicks can’t be faulted for asking.