Even with some serious struggling to open the 2013/14 season and their star player calling them the “laughingstock” of the NBA, the Knicks have zero intention of trading Carmelo Anthony, sources tell Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. Aside from the fact that owner Jim Dolan personally sealed the deal to bring Anthony to New York, the front office realizes it won’t be able to get fair value in return for one of the most talented players in the league.
Even with the Knicks’ losing this season, they still have a major chip in negotiations this summer as they can give Melo roughly $33MM more than any other club over the course of a five-year deal. Anthony, as Jonathan Nehring of Hoops Rumors touched on last night, has a history of going with the green.
Besides, rebuilding isn’t Dolan’s style. The Knicks have never made rebuilding trades and Windhorst reasons that they’re not going to start with the biggest star they’ve had since Patrick Ewing.