What DeMarre Carroll & Carmelo Anthony have in common
By Brian Boake
No NBA roster is perfect, no organization is problem-free. The Raptors and the Knicks are on different planets in many ways, but share one problem.
The New York Knicks have a remarkable talent for making headlines for all the wrong reasons. There’s no vote among the NBA writing community for Most Dysfunctional Franchise, but if there was, it would be a two-horse race between the Knicks and the Sacramento Kings.
One of the most prominent examples of New York’s struggles pertains to their public dispute between team President Phil Jackson and Carmelo Anthony, allegedly the best player on the roster (he’s paid like it anyway). Jackson wants ‘Melo gone, and isn’t keeping it a secret. ‘Melo, after resisting the idea for some time, appears to be reconciled to leaving. While we haven’t heard any recent news, we can assume trade conversations are ongoing.
Raptors have to re-shape their roster
Meanwhile, the Toronto Raptors, certainly not a team in turmoil, nevertheless has a big problem on its hands. More correctly, it has the same problem repeated: what to do about its plethora of free agents. This isn’t a post about which one(s) of Kyle Lowry, Serge Ibaka, Patrick Patterson or P.J. Tucker to bring back. What’s important is to point out that whoever President Masai Ujiri and his staff decide upon retaining, salary cap space needs to be found.
Salaries are too high? Dump somebody! We’ve already written about Cory Joseph being expendable; now let’s figure out if we can exorcise free-agent flop DeMarre Carroll.
Our supposed prize acquisition of two seasons ago has two more years at approx. $15 million each. He’s 30, and offers no reason to believe he’s going to age gracefully.
Let’s switch back to Carmelo. He will be 33 in May, and has 2 years left (the second a player option) on a contract paying him approx. $27 million each. Many Knicks fans have swung around to Jackson’s view that it’s time for ‘Melo to hit the road.
I have a question for both “move ‘Melo” Knicks fans and Raptors fans who, like me, want to see Carroll out the door. What General Manager in his right mind is going to trade for either one of them?
Carmelo has a no-trade clause in his contract. Assuming he agrees to be dealt, to which teams would he agree to go? Can you envision ‘Melo in Sacramento or Salt Lake City? Neither can I.
Here’s a brief list of players who are making similar money to Carroll: Thaddeus Young (Pacers), Tristan Thompson (Cavaliers), Jamal Crawford (Clippers), Ricky Rubio (T’wolves), Gordon Hayward (Jazz). All of those guys are at least twice the player Carroll is.
So what do DeMarre Carroll and Carmelo Anthony have in common? They are both untradeable.