Carmelo Anthony Trade: Knicks won't acquire Jamal Crawford from Clippers, trying to involve third team

The New York Knicks are prepared to pull the trigger on a Carmelo Anthony trade to the Los Angeles Clippers but not without involving a third team that could help them secure more desirable assets, per fresh reports.

Earlier this week, the New York Daily News reported that the Knicks are ready to ship Anthony to the Clippers without acquiring one of Los Angeles' Big 3 of DeAndre Jordan, Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. However, the Clippers are reluctant to trade two out of Austin Rivers, Jamal Crawford and JJ Redick due to the thumb injury suffered by Chris Paul earlier this month which side-lined the point guard for nearly eight weeks.

Besides Clippers' reluctance to part with their guards, the Knicks are also unwilling to absorb the three years and US$42 million (AU$55.6 million) left in Jamal Crawford's contract. To make the salaries match, it's critical for the Clippers to include the veteran sixth man as part of the trade package. ESPN reported Saturday that Doc Rivers, who doubles up as general manager and coach of the Clippers, has strictly made Redick unavailable in the potential deal. To quote the report, "The Clippers, meanwhile, are hesitant to surrender the sharpshooting Redick even if they were at full strength in the backcourt, sources said."

By including a third team, New York could possibly acquire draft picks and younger assets instead of taking up the multi-year contracts of Crawford and Rivers. Since Redick is an unrestricted free agent this summer, the Knicks are pressing for the sharpshooter to be involved in the trade that's likely to go down before the Feb. 23 deadline.

Carmelo Anthony to Clippers: Los Angeles unwilling to part with JJ Redick

The report added that the potential deal is also threatened by the 15 percent trade kicker in Anthony's contract. "Those various conflicting interests, sources said, have necessitated a search for a potential third team. Also, complicating a potential Clippers-Knicks deal is the fact that L.A. is hard-capped this season, which would make it difficult for the club to handle the 15 percent trade kicker in Anthony's contract that would add nearly $10 million to his 2016-17 season if he is dealt."

As reported earlier, the Knicks can't acquire Blake Griffin's contract even if the Clippers were ready to surrender the All-Star forward due to the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) clause which prohibits two players on max rookie extensions (Derrick Rose and Griffin) to be on the same roster.

Meanwhile, Carmelo Anthony, who is reportedly willing to waive his no-trade clause for a move to the Clippers, told reporters Saturday that the rumours were mentally fatiguing. "You've got to deal with that, even though I try not to read it (the rumours). And everywhere you go, even if you don't hear about it, somebody is telling you about it, somebody is saying something. It can be mentally draining, mentally fatiguing," the former 9-time All-Star said of ahead of New York's visit to Atlanta, via ESPN.

Carmelo Anthony is averaging 22.6 points, 3.0 assists and 6.2 rebounds in his 14th NBA season. Analysts believe that the Golden State Warriors, the definitely favourite to return to the NBA Finals in June, could be challenged by a potential Clippers Big 4 of Anthony, Jordan, Griffin and Paul. Stay tuned for the latest on the Carmelo Anthony trade buzz.