Report: Celtics were interested in dealing for Melo at trade deadline
The Boston Celtics are a young team on the rise. They're already overachieving this season by sitting at third place in the East, and have a nice mix of talent, one of the league's better head coaches, and a shrewd front office.
All that's missing is a superstar to firmly place the team on a tier with the rest of the league's title contenders, and a report from ESPN's Ian Begley says that Boston was looking to acquire one in the form of Carmelo Anthony as recently as a few weeks back.
Prior to the trade deadline, the Boston Celtics expressed interest in obtaining Anthony via a trade with the Knicks, according to league sources with knowledge of the situation.
It is unclear if there were any formal discussions between New York and Boston and if those discussions ever reached an advanced stage. But Boston was informed that Anthony had no desire to leave the Knicks via trade to play for the Celtics, sources say.
Anthony is one of a handful of athletes in the league who has a no-trade clause, so any talks of a deal must start by having a conversation with the player himself. And despite how dismal the Knicks have become, Anthony has yet to waver on his desire to remain in New York for as long as his career will last.
A midseason deal involving Anthony borders on the unfathomable when remembering he has the power to say no. But after going through yet another lost season in New York, it's worth wondering if the day might come when he spends a good chunk of an offseason huddling with his family and his business team before making the decision to play somewhere else.